Foo Fighters headlining BlizzCon 2011

Blizzard Entertainment has stepped up its annual BlizzCon fan convention in recent years with concerts from Ozzy Osbourne, The Offspring, and Tenacious D. Earlier this month, Blizzard sister company Activision raised the bar for fan convention concerts with its Call of Duty XP festival, which featured two concerts from coheadliners Dropkick Murphys and Kanye West.

However, Blizzard isn't conceding the convention concert crown to Call of Duty without a fight. The developer today announced that Foo Fighters will headline this year's show. This will not be the first BlizzCon appearance for Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. The former Nirvana drummer also handled the percussion duties for Tenacious D at last year's event.

Warming up the crowd will be Blizzard's in-house metal band The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. The group will play a repertoire of tunes derived from the studio's stable of hit franchises like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.

BlizzCon typically offers a wealth of news, tournaments, community contests, discussion panels, and other miscellaneous events. Last year's events included the unveiling of Diablo III's demon hunter class, sessions on pro tips on Starcraft II, Diablo III's design, and Starcraft II balancing.

BlizzCon 2011 will take place October 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Tickets to the event have long been sold out, but those interested in trying to replicate the experience can purchase a $40 Virtual Ticket to stream coverage online or watch on television through DirecTV. And stay tuned for GameSpot's continuing coverage.

[CORRECTION]: This article originally referred to Activision as the parent company of Blizzard. We regret the error.