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.
Known by the nickname “Watcher” among the WoW community, Hazzikostas joined Blizzard in 2008 as 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.
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. PAX West 2018 Monday badges are still available for $50 and can be purchased online here.
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.
