Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen returns to World of Warcraft as creative advisor

What you need to know

• Chris Metzen worked at Blizzard Entertainment from 1993 to 2016. 
• Metzen contributed to the Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft franchises, leading development on different games, writing dialogue, and contributing voice performances to numerous characters. 
• Blizzard Entertainment shared on Thursday that Metzen is returning as a creative advisor on the Warcraft franchise. 
• Metzen’s role will start with the future of World of Warcraft, expanding to “other projects” at a later time.

People coming and going from different gaming teams is a regular part of the industry, but there’s a big move happening for the Warcraft team at Blizzard Entertainment.

Blizzard Entertainment shared (opens in new tab) on Thursday that Chris Metzen, a veteran of the company, is returning as a creative advisor for the Warcraft Leadership Council. Metzen will initially be helping on World of Warcraft, before his work expands to “other projects” later on.

Metzen held many roles across his tenure at Blizzard Entertainment, contributing to Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft in turn, having a role in some of the best PC games of all time. Metzen wrote dialogue for different games like Diablo 2 and was the creative director on Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos. He also voiced numerous characters across Blizzard’s franchises, and helped create the character of Soldier: 76 in Overwatch.

“Chris was one of the original team members working on the Warcraft universe back when it began in 1994, and we are so happy to be reuniting him with the world he helped create,” said John Hight, general manager of the Warcraft franchise.

Windows Central’s take

It’s tough to say exactly what a “creative advisor” means here, as that can differ by company. It’s not a bad thing to have someone so experienced in all things Blizzard back on the team though, especially if it helps the developers build on the successful launch of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. 

Blizzard Entertainment has been through a lot the last couple of years, with numerous firings and scandals in the wake of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit. Time will tell what the future holds, but this could be another step in the right direction.