Activision Blizzard cancels World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream
"More important voices than ours need to be heard."
Blizzard has announced it has postponed the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream that had been planned for 9th June.
In a tweet, the studio said: "More important voices than ours need to be heard, and now is the time to listen.
"We are postponing our upcoming World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream planned for June 9, and will share more details about the expansion in the future."
World of Warcraft's eighth expansion, Shadowlands, was announced by Blizzard during the company's BlizzCon 2019 Opening Ceremony back in November. As Tom reported at the time, a typically snazzy cinematic saw Sylvanus crack open the sky and create a portal to the Shadowlands - the afterlife for the Warcraft universe. It's here the new chapter of WOW's story will be set.
Right now there's no confirmation on when the rescheduled stream might go ahead but the decision follows other companies, such as EA and Sony, that have similarly postponed high profile online events.
Activision Blizzard has also now officially cancelled this year's BlizzCon live event, citing "health and safety considerations" relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith had initially highlighted the uncertainties surrounding this year's show and warned that Blizzard was "considering a range of scenarios and possibilities", but has now confirmed that Blizzard had taken the "very difficult decision" to cancel this year's BlizzCon.
In related news, a new indie game bundle raising money to provide financial support to Black Lives Matter has already raised over $75,000 USD (£59,000), since it went live on itch.io a few days back.
The Black Lives Matter Support Bundle, which will be available until 17th June, features games from 20 indie developers "standing together to oppose police brutality and white supremacy", and comes as Black Lives Matter protests continue around the globe following the police killing of George Floyd last week.
The bundle's featured titles are split across two donation tiers, and include Cosmo D's The Norwood Suite, Toge Productions' Coffee Talk, and Kitfox Games' Moon Hunters, with a combined total valued at $150 USD. A $20 donation will net 11 games, with the remainder being made available to those donating $40 and above.
