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Chris Metzen returns to Blizzard as Creative Director of Warcraft

PC Gamer's write-up adds some good context to this news. Metzen was a legend at Blizzard - he was creative director of World of Warcraft during its heyday, when some of its most popular expansions including Wrath of the Lich King released - but retired from game dev in 2016.

Blizzard is going through a turbulent time right now, with its handling of both Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 leaving a fair bit to be desired. Metzen is returning as creative director of the whole Warcraft franchise, so fans who know his reputation will no doubt hope that he can restore at least one of Blizzard's big IPs to glory. In the near term, this year's Blizzcon is just over a month away and about the right time to reveal a new WoW expansion, but Metzen's job title suggests a broader scope than just the one game, so hopefully this means new Warcraft projects in the future.

What would you like to see announced?

Created at 11:48am, 27th September, 2023. Page last updated at 2:43pm, 16th May, 2024.

BoomerMod9/27/2023, 12:01:37 PM

I know World of Warcraft serves as a stand in for Warcraft sequels, but a Warcraft 4 would be so good!

RichStaff9/27/2023, 4:16:45 PM

Boomer

I'm not sure what Blizzard's calculus is for how long to continue with WoW's current model. It's been going for nearly a decade so on the one hand why would they change now, perhaps Metzen's been brought in to maintain it at a certain threshold where the P/L makes sense. That feels unambitious for one of Blizzard's theoretically biggest IPs though, and Metzen's job description clearly implies responsibilities beyond just WoW, though it's his immediate focus. A Warcraft movie sequel? Warcraft 4? Maybe even WoW 2?

BoomerMod9/27/2023, 4:32:14 PM

Rich

Oh don't get my hopes up about a new Warcraft movie!

I'm not sure how reliable the stats are, but this suggests the WoW playerbase is down.

https://activeplayer.io/world-of-warcraft/

500K+ daily active users is still a juggernaut, but the percentage losses have got to be kicking the bosses into action.

Lanah Tyra 9/27/2023, 6:08:48 PM

Boomer

Oh don’t get my hopes up about a new Warcraft movie!

exactly what I was going to say :D

BoomerMod9/28/2023, 8:23:24 AM

Lanah Tyra

Or even a Blizzard Animation Studios. The cutscenes from their games are always stunning, and I would pay good money to see movies of that quality in that setting.

Even after 15 years the trailer for Wrath of the Lich King looks amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCr7y4SLhck

Philip 9/27/2023, 12:40:41 PM

Is WoW still kicking along?

I haven't played it in donkeys years!

RichStaff9/27/2023, 1:51:41 PM

Philip

It is! Currently in the midst of Dragonflight, its ninth expansion. I played vanilla just before heading off to university (and if it weren't for that interruption I'd probably be full-on addicted)