Irvine-based video game maker Blizzard Entertainment Inc. is skipping its regular fan event BlizzCon this year.
The company has held the event at the Anaheim Convention Center since the inaugural show in 2005. It also skipped the event in 2006.
Last year’s two-day event brought about 26,000 fans.
The company connected the cancellation to a “jam-packed schedule” this year.
Its agenda includes the launch of the new Diablo III and expansions of two existing games, World of Warcraft and StarCraft, which are leading products that drive much of the company’s revenue.
Also scheduled for later this year is the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a global eSports event that is expected to take place in Asia and feature tournaments for competitive gamers.
Blizzard is the largest software maker in Orange County, and employs about 1,800 here.
It is a unit of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard Inc.
The Blizzard segment saw $297 million in revenue in the third quarter last year, down 38% from the year-earlier figure.
Fourth quarter and annual financials are slated to be announced in February.
