Blizzard has announced that the annual Blizzcon event will return bigger and better than ever for 2009 on August 21st and 22nd in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The event that is part LAN party and part celebration of the works of Blizzard Entertainment attracted some 15,000 attendees last year, and will be expanded from three halls to four halls to build on the success of last year’s event. The expansion was necessary to prevent people from getting shut out of the 2009 event.

As with last year, Blizzcon will feature a chance for those in the Blizzard gamming community to rub elbows with Blizzard developers and compete in both competitive and casual tournaments. In addition, the event will offer panel discussions, community contests, commemorative merchandise and a silent auction as part of the weekend events.

The big story, however, will be the chance for gamers to get a first hand look at the upcoming StarCraft II and Diablo III titles which are currently in development by Blizzard. Attendees will get the chance to play these eagerly awaited releases prior to their actual release.

Blizzcon has become one of the largest events in the gaming community that is hosted by a developer. The event itself is centered around the Blizzard gaming community, in much the same way as the rival QuakeCon event that is hosted by developer id Software. QuakeCon 2009 is being held in Dallas, Texas from August 13th to the 16th, which is the week prior to the Blizzcon event forcing gamers to choose between the two events. Registration for QuakeCon 2009 will open on March 6th, 2009, but as of yet Blizzard has not announced when registration will open for Blizzcon 2009.