Blizzard's Chris Metzen Is Now Shaping The Future Of Warcraft As A Creative Director

What's next for World of Warcraft will be revealed at BlizzCon 2023, and one of the people who will be sharing the news on stage is Blizzard's Chris Metzen, whom Blizzard has announced is now an executive creative director for the Warcraft universe.

Metzen rejoined Blizzard late last year in a part-time creative advisor role, having originally left Blizzard in 2016. It was stated then that his efforts would initially be on helping craft the future of Blizzard's MMORPG, but that his work would eventually "expand to other projects in this growing franchise." What exactly those other projects might be are still a mystery. Currently, the "Warcraft universe" consists of various Warcraft novels, the card game spin-off Hearthstone and the upcoming mobile game Warcraft Rumble.

According to Blizzard's latest statement about Metzen's new creative director role, it seems he is still focused on WoW, and is currently "supporting our World of Warcraft leadership in crafting the next generation of adventures." Blizzard states Metzen will be on stage at BlizzCon to share what he and the team have been working on for the past year.

In light of the announcement, Metzen himself took to X to share his thoughts on the future.

It's been amazing working on Warcraft again," he said. "Like coming home. The stories we're developing right now--how the world unfolds over the next few years...Well, I can't wait for y'all to see where we're headed."

It's big news for Warcraft fans. Metzen is one of the key minds behind the Warcraft universe, having originally worked at Blizzard for over 20 years. He worked on the original Warcraft back in 1994, and later served as creative director on Warcraft III and as senior vice president of story and franchise development for much of his time working on WoW. He also voices numerous characters in WoW, including the former Horde Warchief, Thrall.

In a recent interview with GameSpot conducted before the announcement of Metzen's new role, WoW game director Ion Hazzikostas and executive producer Holly Longdale said Metzen's role as creative advisor didn't do him justice. They went on to say he is a powerful force at Blizzard HQ that is dedicated and passionate about making Warcraft as a franchise "everything it can be."

Hazzikostas said having Metzen in the office to bounce ideas off of has been "amazing," especially as the WoW story team looks to go beyond many of the villains, characters, and settings that Metzen helped create two decades ago.

"As we look to the future, it's no secret…we've almost exhausted the Warcraft III-era canon of what are the villains we have yet to face and what are the places we have yet to go, and we are creating new ones as we speak," Hazzikostas said. "The Primal Incarnates that are central to Dragonflight are a new creation to World of Warcraft. Having Chris available as a resource and as a partner as we start to create new things, new places, and yet have them still feel quintessentially Warcraft is something he is uniquely suited to do."

Fans won't have to wait too long to learn what Metzen and the team have been up to. BlizzCon 2023 is November 3-4 and will be the fan convention's first in-person event since 2019.