The Warcraft guru Chris Metzen has a new position at Blizzard. He is more than just an advisor – he is once again steering the story.
In the development team around World of Warcraft, there are a few “legends” that are fondly remembered by the community. One of them is Chris Metzen, the godfather of the entire Warcraft franchise. He conceived much of the original story and was involved in the base game and many expansions, writing the narrative and many characters.
Due to mental health challenges and to spend more time with his family, he stepped back from his career a few years ago.
What has Chris Metzen done so far? Since around the end of Shadowlands, Chris Metzen had only an “advisory” role at Blizzard – at least on paper. He was supposed to help the team steer the story of World of Warcraft back onto different tracks, contribute ideas, and discuss them with the team.
What is his new job? As “Executive Creative Director” for the Warcraft universe, a full-time position, he is significantly more involved in the story process. Blizzard emphasizes that it concerns the entire Warcraft universe – likely including additional games, such as Hearthstone or the soon-to-be-released Warcraft Rumble (Mobile). Currently, Metzen is primarily active with the World of Warcraft team.
Blizzard has confirmed that Chris Metzen will likely be the spokesperson for the Warcraft team at the upcoming BlizzCon in November, to present “what’s been worked on recently” – every fan will understand that this can only pertain to the next expansion of World of Warcraft.
Apart from that, we hear Chris Metzen in the game – at least in the original English version. He is for example the voice of Thrall, but also that of Ragnaros and Nefarian.
For fans of the Warcraft franchise, the next BlizzCon is sure to be a true highlight again. Because Metzen and BlizzCon simply go together – and have always added significant excitement to the presentations.
Even beforehand, we reported that the next expansion will certainly bear Chris Metzen’s signature.
