Longtime Blizzard Entertainment icon and World of Warcraft developer Chris Metzen has returned to the game he once laid the groundwork on nearly two decades ago. Today, the company announced that Metzen is back on the WoW team as the game’s executive creative director.
Metzen was an original member of the Warcraft development team when the franchise only had real-time strategy games to its name. His original 23-year stint at Blizzard included time as the senior vice president of story and franchise development for World of Warcraft before he retired in 2016. Last fall, he took on a part-time advisory role with Blizzard, and now, Metzen is back with the company on a full-time basis.
“It’s been amazing working on Warcraft again,” Metzen said in a statement on Twitter earlier today. “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.”
Throughout his original tenure at Blizzard, Metzen became the arguable “face of the franchise,” with his presence on the WoW development team going hand-in-hand with his presence in-game as the voice of characters such as Varian Wrynn and Thrall. From developer updates to expansion announcements, Metzen consistently served as the bridge between the WoW devs and the community.
“Chris was instrumental in developing the foundations of the Warcraft universe, and we are thrilled for him to re-join our teams in shaping what’s to come,” Blizzard said in a statement of their own.
At every BlizzCon event during Metzen’s original run with Blizzard, he helped ring in new eras of WoW by serving as the point man for expansion launches. WoW fans will once again be able to hear from Metzen when he provides updates on the game’s future at this year’s BlizzCon, which takes place on Nov. 3 and 4.
It’s unclear at this time what Metzen and Blizzard plan to announce at BlizzCon for WoW, although likely possibilities include details regarding the finale of Dragonflight, or the reveal of the game’s next expansion.
