World of Warcraft® Game Director Ion Hazzikostas to Deliver PAX West 2018 Keynote
PAX South 2019 Tickets Go on Sale Later This Week
SEATTLE – Aug. 13, 2018 – Ion Hazzikostas, the game director of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, will deliver the opening “Storytime” keynote at PAX West 2018, taking place at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3, 2018.
Known by the nickname “Watcher” among the WoW® community, Hazzikostas joined Blizzard in 2008, leaving behind a career in law to become a designer on Blizzard’s popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. His first responsibilities included designing raid encounters, balancing classes, and maintaining the achievement system for the 2008 expansion Wrath of the Lich King®, and he ultimately leveled up to become game director in 2016. Hazzikostas is currently helming the development of the Battle for Azeroth™ expansion, which releases Aug. 14.
Tickets for PAX South 2019, taking place Jan. 18 – Jan 20, 2019 at Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, TX, will be available for sale later this week. Three-day badges will cost $85 and single day passes will be available for $42. Badges can be purchased here starting Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.
Additional panels at PAX West 2018 include presentations from the development teams behind Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5, BioWare’s Anthem, Square Enix’s Life is Strange, and many more. The event will also feature a bounty of exhibitors on the show floor, from ranging from console manufactures and major publishers to indie studios showing off their latest upcoming titles.
The full lineup and schedule for PAX West 2018 can be found here.
“There really are two worlds - one before World of Warcraft, and one after,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder, Penny Arcade and PAX. “I can't wait to hear Ion Hazzikostas share some stories from the early days of WoW all the way up to the release of Battle for Azeroth.”
PAX West 2018 Monday badges are still available for $50 and can be purchased online here.
Founded in 2004, PAX West connects leading game developers directly to gamers, providing a space where gaming culture is celebrated through panels, demos, concerts, tournaments and free play sessions. The PAX series of shows – now including West, East, South, Australia, and Unplugged - produced by ReedPOP in conjunction with Penny Arcade, comprise some of the world's largest gaming festivals, with each event entertaining tens of thousands of guests.
For further information, visit the official PAX West website.
PAX
PAX or Penny Arcade Expo is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has nearly doubled in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world's leading game publishers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010 and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest gaming shows in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013. In 2017, Penny Arcade established PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop focused show, held in Philadelphia.
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade is a web comic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. With over 3.5 million readers, it is the most popular and longest running gaming web comic online. Penny Arcade is also responsible for the Child's Play Charity, the Penny Arcade gaming expos (PAX) in Seattle, Boston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Melbourne, multiple videogames based on the brand, and multiple online video series.
ReedPOP
ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture world. ReedPOP is dedicated to celebrations of popular culture throughout the globe that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) West, East, South, Australia and Unplugged, Emerald City Comicon (ECCC), BookCon, BookExpo, Oz Comic-Con, Comic Con India, Paris Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, Star Trek: Mission New York, ComplexCon and more. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan-based group of professionals uniquely qualified to serve those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, India and Australia.
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-one #1 games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, is one of the largest online-gaming services in the world, with millions of active players.
