On June 9, Blizzard was set to showcase the new World of Warcraft Shadowlands expansion to the world. However, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests around the world has convinced Blizzard to hold off on its World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream. No new date for the stream has been announced at the time of this writing.
Blizzard explained its decision to delay the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream in a tweet, stating that "More important voices than ours need to be heard, and now is the time to listen." This is a similar sentiment shared by many other video game companies that have delayed various events out of respect for the Black Lives matter protest.
While many fans have applauded Blizzard for its decision to delay the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream, others have accused the company of being hypocritical. As some may recall, Blizzard found itself under fire last year for not supporting the Hong Kong protests in China, banning a professional Hearthstone player for supporting the movement. Twitter user Revolt4America responded to Blizzard's announcement by pointing that out, adding, "Stop acting like you care when everyone knows this is just a tasteless PR stunt."
The World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream is just the latest Summer Game Fest event that has been postponed since the death of George Floyd. Previously, Sony delayed the PS5 game reveal event, and both the PC Gaming Show and Future Games Show delayed their events as well. There is still no new date announced for the PS5 game reveal event, but the PC Gaming Show and Future Games Show are now expected to take place on June 13.
Currently, there are still two Summer Game Fest events planned for June 9. The Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition is expected to start on that day, and the Destiny 2: The Next Chapter is also planned for that date. With Blizzard deciding to postpone its World of Warcraft: Shadowlands livestream, it will be interesting to see if Bungie also pushes back the Destiny 2 reveal and if the Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition is hit with any kind of delay.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is in development for PC.
Source: World of Warcraft - Twitter