Chris Metzen

Chris Metzen Returns as Blizzard's Creative Advisor: For 'World of Warcraft' and 'other projects'.

Before his retirement in 2016, Metzen had been with Blizzard for more than 20 years where he served as senior vice president of lore and franchise development. [Diablo](https://hypebeast.com/tags/diablo), [Overwatch](https://hypebeast.com/tags/overwatch), [StarCraft](https://hypebeast.com/tags/starcraft), and more. [Blizzard Entertainment](https://hypebeast.com/tags/blizzard-entertainment) as the creative advisor for the [World of Warcraft](https://hypebeast.com/tags/world-of-warcraft) franchise.

World of Warcraft will have a new creative advisor in Chris Metzen, the long time writer and artist behind some of the franchise's best games and most ...

Metzen, along with other senior alums like Mike Morhaime, [apologized in 2021 for “the part I played in a culture that fostered harassment, inequality, and indifference.”](https://www.polygon.com/22594406/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-sexual-harassment-discrimination-chris-metzen-mike-morhaime-apology) [Sylvanas storyline, which carried through Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands](https://www.polygon.com/23015539/world-of-warcraft-sylvanas-windrunner-story-explainer-battle-for-azeroth-shadowlands-novel), was largely panned by the player base due to narrative inconsistency and mishandling of beloved characters. [World of Warcraft](https://www.polygon.com/game/world-of-warcraft/2735), [Warcraft general manager John Hight](https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/world-of-warcraft/23891316/a-message-from-warcraft) announced Thursday. Metzen continued to helm creative projects throughout [World of Warcraft](https://www.polygon.com/franchise/world-of-warcraft/2734) [until his retirement in 2016](https://www.polygon.com/2016/9/13/12898806/blizzard-chris-metzen-retires) as senior vice president for story and franchise development. He also serves as the voice for Thrall, long-time orc warchief and poster boy for the Horde. [lawsuits from former employees](https://www.polygon.com/22994994/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-sexism) and the [California Department of Fair Employment and Housing](https://www.polygon.com/22588407/activision-blizzard-sexual-harassment-sexism-california-lawsuit) alleging sexual harassment and discrimination at the developer in a lawsuit.

Six years after announcing his departure from Blizzard Entertainment, and his retirement from the games industry at lar…

"It is with great joy that I announce Chris Metzen has joined the Warcraft Leadership Team as creative advisor," Hight wrote. "The reason I use the word 'retire'", Metzen explained in a statement at the time of his departure, "is because I'm not going to some other company or starting up new projects or anything remotely like that. "There is no excuse," he wrote. It can't." He'd been with the company for 23 years at that point, serving as head writer and lore guru (or, more officially, senior vice president of story and franchise development) and had become one of its most recognisable faces across countless BlizzCons. It's been a long, amazing stretch of years.

Metzen's work as a creative advisor will first focus on World of Warcraft before contributing to "other projects" set in the Warcraft universe.

It will be the first mobile game in the franchise to arrive, with recent reports pointing to multiple [other Warcraft mobile projects having been canceled](/articles/report-world-of-warcraft-mobile-mmo-canceled/1100-6506117/). He would go on to state that he was "left feeling the same shock, disgust, and anger that many of you are--and having trouble reconciling the place I knew, loved, and worked in for so long with the hard reality that has been presented over the past few days. Metzen worked on the Warcraft universe for over 20 years, having served as creative director on Warcraft III and as senior vice president of story and franchise development for much of his time on WoW.

Original World of Warcraft creative director Chris Metzen, who left Blizzard in 2016 after a 23-year career, is coming back. Warcraft franchise general ...

[Auroboros: Coils of the Serpents](https://www.pcgamer.com/warcraft-creator-chris-metzen-unveils-his-new-tabletop-rpg-project-inspired-by-his-childhood-dandd-campaigns/) (opens in new tab) announced in 2021. Unfortunately, 2021 was also the year that Metzen [apologized](https://www.pcgamer.com/chris-metzen-is-the-latest-ex-blizzard-dev-to-speak-up-there-is-no-excuse/) (opens in new tab) for failing to take action to halt widespread discrimination and sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard. And, unlike many of his Blizzard compatriots (like

Chris Metzen makes his triumphant return to World of Warcraft nearly seven years after stepping away from Blizzard for personal reasons.

Speculation aside, most players and developers alike are simply happy to have Metzen back to work on World of Warcraft. Metzen had a great deal of influence in the story of the Warcraft RTS games, especially Warcraft 2 and Warcraft 3, so his return Despite leaving Blizzard, Metzen has not been a stranger to World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft legend Chris Metzen is making his prodigal return to Blizzard. John Hight, the current senior vice president and general manager of the Warcraft franchise, announced Metzen’s return to Warcraft as a creative advisor on his Twitter. Now, it seems Metzen is coming back to the world he helped shape.

Original Warcraft team member and loremaster Chris Metzen is returning to Blizzard more than six years after he retired to work on the franchise once again.

[legal actions](/new-york-city-sue-activision-blizzard-demand-to-see-company-records), [labour disputes](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/activision-blizzard-hit-with-another-unfair-labour-charge-from-cwa) and allegations of [workplace harassment](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-alleged-culture-of-sexual-harassment-and-discrimination). [sued](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-alleged-culture-of-sexual-harassment-and-discrimination) the company in 2021 after a two-year investigation into its workplace culture, having moved into [tabletop gaming](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ex-blizzard-dev-chris-metzen-is-now-making-tabletop-games) with his company Warchief after his retirement. Despite that, Metzen put out a [statement](https://twitter.com/ChrisMetzen/status/1419076394546470913) to say that he felt that Blizzard’s culture had “failed”, and there was “no excuse”. Blizzard’s president Mike Ybarra [shared](https://twitter.com/Qwik/status/1603466590162653185) Hight’s message and welcomed Metzen’s return. [noted](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/blizzard-chris-metzen-retires) when Metzen retired in 2016, a lot of different aspects of Warcraft had felt his influence during the nearly a quarter of a century of his career spent at Blizzard. Metzen had retired back in 2016 after decades of working on Warcraft and Blizzard’s other games.

Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen has announced a surprise return to the company six years after he announced his retirement.

Not corporations, or platitudes, or ‘values cast in iron around a statue,” he added. Not sure what grand, sweeping promises really do either, Accountability starts with people. “The reason I use the word ‘retire'”, he said at the time, “is because I’m not going to some other company or starting up new projects or anything remotely like that. Now it’s time to slow it down. [Metzen issued a statement following the news of the lawsuit](https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/ex-blizzard-dev-chris-metzen-comments-on-activision-blizzard-lawsuit-3001958) against [Activision Blizzard](https://www.nme.com/brands/activision-blizzard). It’s been a long, amazing stretch of years.

Blizzard has announced that Chris Metzen, a veteran Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo designer, has returned to the company as a creative advisor after ...

Metzen’s return to Blizzard sees him reunited with the universe he created as a creative advisor. He was also the creator of Overwatch’s Soldier 76, and is known by fans as the voice of Thrall, one of Warcraft’s most important orc characters. He was instrumental in the creation of the Warcraft universe back in the mid-90s, and has since served as creative director on numerous Blizzard projects, including his well-respected tenure as lead and writer on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

Blizzard has announced that Chris Metzen, a veteran Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo designer, has returned to the company after several years away.

Metzen’s return to Blizzard sees him reunited with the universe he created as a creative advisor. He was also the creator of Overwatch’s Soldier 76, and is known by fans as the voice of Thrall, one of Warcraft’s most important orc characters. Chris’s focus initially will be on World of Warcraft, then his work will expand to other projects across this growing franchise.