In a shocking and unexpected move, Blizzard has announced that World of Warcraft veteran Chris Metzen has returned to the franchise as a creative advisor. Metzen left Blizzard after 23 years in 2016 citing mental health issues. Six years later, Metzen is returning to the company he first started at when he was 19 years old.
John Hight, General Manager of World of Warcraft, announced Metzen’s return on December 15th via Twitter, stating, “It is with great joy that I announce Chris Metzen has joined the Warcraft Leadership Team as Creative Advisor. Chris’s focus initially will be on World of Warcraft, then his work will expand to other projects across this growing franchise. 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.”
Metzen returns to the franchise as it’s trying to recover from two unpopular expansions with the launch of their ninth expansion, Dragonflight. Dragonflight hopes to reverse the course of Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, both which featured narrative gaps and the mishandling of beloved character, Sylvanas, among others. Metzen’s return is a flare shot into the night sky of Azeroth signaling for mistreated players of the franchise to return.
Metzen’s original 23-year tenure at Blizzard saw not only the development of the Warcraft franchise, but he had a direct hand in the creation and growth of other major Blizzard titles such as Starcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch as well.
Image from: Blizzard
