The future of World of Warcraft seems to be in good hands, as the “story legend” Chris Metzen appears to have his fingers deep in the next addon.
In the past 20 years, many developers of World of Warcraft have left the team at Blizzard, and there is almost always a discussion about whether there is still anyone from the veterans left.
But there is one who has returned: Chris Metzen. Originally hired as a “story consultant”, when WoW was pretty much down with Shadowlands, he seems to have a significantly larger role now – one that could shape the next addon.
Who is Chris Metzen? Chris Metzen is the original story chief behind the Warcraft franchise. He came up with the original story, created the background story, and is fundamentally responsible for Warcraft being what it is today. From “Vanilla” to “Warlords of Draenor,” he was the driving force of the story.
Besides that, players of the English version probably know him as a voice in the game – he voices characters like the shaman Thrall or the fire elemental Ragnaros.
Where does the information come from? The information comes from YouTuber Taliesin. Together with his partner Evitel, he has been reporting about World of Warcraft for a long time and consistently provides analyses and opinions on current events. Over the years, the two have built some contacts with the Blizzard team and therefore learn many internal things. Some of them never see the light of day because you obviously don’t want to endanger the employees, while others prove to be useful.
The explanation starts at minute 9:47:
Just like in the current case: According to Taliesin, several employees from the WoW team have independently told him that Chris Metzen’s role in the WoW team is significantly larger than assumed.
Allegedly, Chris Metzen is spending a lot of time with Steve Danuser and Ion Hazzikostas to work on the future of WoW. Metzen is therefore currently an indispensable member of the WoW team and thus much more than just a “story consultant”.
This also aligns with a tweet from Mike Ybarra, who revealed that Chris Metzen will speak about the future of World of Warcraft at the upcoming BlizzCon.
That Metzen is taking on a larger role for the Warcraft franchise had already been announced beforehand. However, many had dismissed it as “PR” and did not expect anything substantial to come from it.
What does this mean for WoW? For all WoW fans who remember the “good old days,” this is likely a positive thing. If Chris Metzen has a greater influence on the story again, then we should – at least presumably – be spared story debacles like Shadowlands. Already, Dragonflight felt significantly more cohesive than the previous addon, and this could be a trend that continues.
There are still a few months until BlizzCon in November. But all “Metzen fans” should already be looking forward to the event – as it seems pretty certain that Chris Metzen will showcase what he and the team have been working on in recent months.
A bit more story in WoW will be coming soon:
