Blizzard Entertainment announced on Thursday that its fifth annual BlizzCon gaming convention will be held Oct. 22 and 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Calif. As in past years, the publisher plans to offer hands-on play time with its upcoming games, discussion panels with developers, tournaments, and contests with prizes.

The company currently has the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion pack, Diablo III, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in development. It’s not unreasonable for players to expect that they’ll get to play the first two. And while Wings of Liberty will have shipped by then, players can probably expect to see the next two StarCraft II installments, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void, in action during BlizzCon.

Last year’s show saw the announcement of Cataclysm, following a trend where Blizzard has unveiled new games at BlizzCon, so it’s possible the publisher will take the wraps off another upcoming title this time. In addition, BlizzCon 2009 ended with a rock concert by Ozzy Osbourne; something similar could happen this year too.

Tickets for BlizzCon 2009 are not yet available. Blizzard advises those who want to attend to keep an eye on the BlizzCon web site.