Holly Longdale, Executive Producer of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, has been announced as the featured Storytime speaker for PAX Aus 2026. The Australian gaming festival will return to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 9–11 October 2026.
An industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), Longdale has collaborated with Blizzard Entertainment, Disney, and Sony Online Entertainment. Her work spans several of the industry’s most celebrated franchises, including World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and the long-running EverQuest series.
Longdale began her career at Sony Online Entertainment, where she worked on the pioneering EverQuest MMORPG series as Assistant Lead Designer, later returning as Executive Producer to oversee the franchise. During her time on EverQuest, she helped shape many of the strategies and business models that are still widely used across the genre today.
She is currently Executive Producer of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, overseeing one of the world’s most successful persistent online fantasy games. Her remit spans both World of Warcraft Classic and the modern retail version of the game, which recently launched the series eleventh expansion, World of Warcraft: Midnight.
Inspired by the success of EverQuest, World of Warcraft, originally released in 2004, is set in the fictional realm of Azeroth, the same universe introduced in the Warcraft games of the mid-1990s. With an estimated nine million active players, it remains one of the most popular online video games of all time.
“I’m honoured to be joining PAX Aus to celebrate the power of games and the communities that grow around them: places where people come together through play, creativity and connection,” said Holly Longdale, Executive Producer for World of Warcraft. “From World of Warcraft to gaming more broadly, it’s those communities that shape what we build and I’m looking forward to sharing how we’re thinking about the future of Warcraft with the same focus on listening, creativity and deep respect for the players who make Azeroth feel like home.”
PAX Aus has been a key fixture on the Australian gaming calendar since 2013. It is the only international edition of the U.S.-based PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) series of gaming festivals. The event celebrates all facets of gaming culture, including tabletop, arcade, and video games.
“PAX Aus is thrilled to have Holly Longdale as our 2026 Storytime speaker. Holly Longdale represents the very best of what PAX Aus celebrates; creativity, community and the power of games to bring people together,” said Lauren Luciani, PAX Aus Event Director. “Her experience in shaping MMORPGs and globally recognised franchises makes her uniquely positioned to speak to the future of interactive worlds.”
Visitors to PAX Aus 2026 in October will have a unique opportunity to hear Holly Longdale share highlights from her career, as well as the lessons she has learned while working on some of gaming’s most prestigious fantasy and online titles.