The countdown to Australia’s biggest weekend in gaming has officially begun with a massive talent announcement. PAX Aus 2026 has revealed that globally renowned game developer and MMORPG leader Holly Longdale will headline this year’s event as the official Storytime speaker.

With an illustrious career spanning more than 20 years, Longdale has been a foundational force behind some of the most persistent, successful, and culturally significant online worlds in gaming history.

A Legacy of Shaping Virtual Worlds

Longdale currently serves as the Executive Producer of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment. In this role, she oversees the entire franchise across both World of Warcraft Classic and Modern iterations—including the rollout of the highly anticipated World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion.

Beyond Azeroth, her portfolio includes creative leadership and production contributions to a staggering lineup of iconic properties:

• Blizzard Entertainment: Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch
• Sony Online Entertainment: The legendary EverQuest and EverQuest II franchises
• Disney Interactive Studios: Major franchise-linked online experiences and licensed family titles

From EverQuest to Disney and Azeroth

Longdale’s career roots track back to Sony Online Entertainment, where she climbed the ranks from working on early EverQuest expansions to Assistant Lead Designer, eventually returning years later as Executive Producer to manage the entire franchise’s live content and evolving business models.

Her career also featured a highly successful pivot into mainstream entertainment properties at Disney Interactive Studios and the Walt Disney Internet Group. As a Senior and Lead Producer, she steered design leadership for licensed family titles like Cars Mater-National, Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell, Up!, and The Princess and the Frog, alongside massive digital community spaces for TRON, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Hannah Montana.

Honoring the Power of Gaming Communities

Longdale’s Storytime address will delve into her career highlights, offering rare insights and behind-the-scenes lessons learned while managing multi-million-player universes. Her talk will focus heavily on how player communities influence development.

Holly Longdale, Executive Producer for World of Warcraft:

“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. 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 Event Director Lauren Luciani shared the team’s excitement about bringing such an influential figure to the Australian community:

“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. Her experience in shaping MMORPGs and globally recognised franchises makes her uniquely positioned to speak to the future of interactive worlds.”

Check out all of our PAX Aus 2026 updates.