As previously announced, Blizzard will be in full force at gamescom, the world’s largest games convention, taking place August 21-25 in Cologne, Germany. Attendees will be able to play our latest games, and will be treated to all sorts of entertainment on our stage – including the world-famous Blizzard costume contest on Saturday August 24.

With five weeks to go, there’s still plenty of time to create a magnificent costume based on one of our games. In the past we’ve had barbarians, priests, trolls, witch doctors… even a Pylon from StarCraft II! To ensure you and your creation get your moment in the spotlight – and the chance to win fabulous prizes – now is the time to sign up.

This year, we have great prizes to offer to the creators of the finest costumes, as decided by the Blizzard game developers on the judging panel. The winner will get an expenses-paid trip for two to the ultimate gaming experience – BlizzCon 2013, to be held this November 8-9 in Anaheim, California – courtesy of SteelSeries and J!NX. Flights, accommodation and BlizzCon tickets for the winner and a friend will all be covered.

That’s not all. The second-place prize is an awesome Alienware 14 gaming laptop worth €1,700, pictured below, and there are lots more runner-up prizes also up for grabs, including SteelSeries mousemats and headsets, J!NX T-shirts, Blizzard universe books from Panini, and many more rare and exclusive goodies.

And then, on Sunday August 25, we’ll have our world-famous dance contest with yet more fantastic prizes to be won. Signups will take place at the Blizzard booth during gamescom, so if you’re attending, get polishing your WoW dance moves! We’ll have more details to share about this contest, and its prizes, soon.

If you’re planning to participate in the Blizzard costume contest at gamescom 2013, simply send an email to gamescom2013@blizzard.com. Make sure to include the following information for your application to be correctly processed:

• Your name
• Costume type (e.g. “draenei paladin” or “Jim Raynor”)
• You can also add other useful information about your outfit, such as “Tier 6 armor set”, or anything else that will help the judges fully appreciate your creation! For example, what materials it is made from, how much it weighs, etc.

What you need to know:

• The Blizzard costume contest will take place at Blizzard’s gamescom booth on Saturday August 24. If you’re participating, you’re responsible for your own entry to gamescom.
• The competition is open to individuals aged 13 or over. Minors under 18 must have parental authorization.
• Once you have signed up, we will get in touch with you confirming your participation, with more details of where to be and when. We’ll also send you a set of contest rules which you must agree to in order to participate.
• The deadline for email signups is 23:59 CET on Wednesday August 14. 

Head to our newly launched dedicated website for more about Blizzard at gamescom 2013!