Ozzy Osbourne Set to Rock the Lich King at BlizzCon 2009!

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, will headline the closing concert at this year’s BlizzCon®, which will take place August 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. While tickets to the convention sold out in minutes, a live Pay Per View event will be available on DIRECTV and via Internet stream.

The largest event of its kind, BlizzCon is a celebration of Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft®, Diablo®, and StarCraft® game universes and the global player communities surrounding them. At the closing ceremony on August 22, Ozzy will unleash a thunderous spectacle of rock to put the Lich King in his place and cement his own title as the one true Prince of Darkness.

One of the most influential rock musicians of all time, Ozzy Osbourne rose to prominence as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath before embarking on a multi-platinum solo career. He is also known for putting on the Ozzfest music festival and for starring in his own reality TV show. Ozzy Osbourne’s career has spanned four decades and his music is as relevant today as ever. The Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has sold over 100 million albums worldwide-50 with Black Sabbath and as many as a solo artist-and in 2003 was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s “Walk of Fame.” This is his second collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment, following a recent TV spot for World of Warcraft®.

“Our goal with BlizzCon is to deliver an unforgettable weekend of entertainment, and we can’t think of a better way to close out this year’s show than having Ozzy rock the house,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Many of us at Blizzard are lifelong fans of Ozzy’s music, and we’re thrilled that he’ll be performing for all of our BlizzCon attendees as well as those joining us via DIRECTV and the live Internet stream.”

In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, contests, tournaments showcasing the skills of top eSports gamers from around the world, and more. While tickets to the convention are currently sold out, the live Pay Per View event can still be ordered for $39.95 USD, and is available via DIRECTV and Internet stream (pricing and availability may vary by region). Visit www.blizzcon.com for more details and ordering information.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs. As BlizzCon draws closer, further details about the show will be announced at www.blizzcon.com.