World of Warcraftlegend Chris Metzen is making his prodigal return to Blizzard. The former senior vice president of story and franchise development for Blizzard is returning to theWorld of Warcraftteam in an advisory role.
Metzen worked for Blizzard for over 20 years, and was responsible for shaping the universes ofDiablo,Starcraft, and especiallyWarcraft. AfterWorld of Warcraft: Legionlaunched in 2016,Metzen stepped away from Blizzardto spend more time with his family and to care for his own mental health.
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Now, it seems Metzen is coming back to the world he helped shape. John Hight, the current senior vice president and general manager of theWarcraftfranchise, announced Metzen’s return toWarcraftas a creative advisor on his Twitter. According to the announcement, Metzen will be focusing onWorld of Warcraftinitially, but will eventually work onotherWarcraftprojects as well.
Despite leaving Blizzard, Metzen has not been a stranger toWorld of Warcraft. Though he had stepped away from game development, he continued to voice Thrall in his appearances inWorld of Warcraftand most of them inHearthstone. Metzen is also still an activeWorld of Warcraftplayer, and has beentweeting his own reactions toDragonflight. Beyond that, Metzen has been working onAurobouros: Coils of the Serpent–the first major project for Warchief Gaming, the tableop roleplaying game company he founded in 2020.
Players are ecstatic to have the legendary developer back at theWorld of Warcrafttable. Metzen played a large role in shapingWarcraftinto what it is today, and most think the franchise can only be better with him back. Fans, friends, and former co-workers poured out their excitement for the return, with hundreds of comments and thousands of likes and retweets in minutes. Players couldn’t help but draw parallels between his own return andthat of Thrall’s duringBattle for Azeroth.
ManyWorld of Warcraftfans are curious as to what brought Blizzard to recruit Metzen again, however. While his hand inWorld of Warcraftitself will obviously help bring the MMO to new heights, some can’t help but wonder if Metzen might eventually start working on a new story-driven, single playerWarcraftgame in the future. Metzen had a great deal of influence in the story of theWarcraftRTS games, especiallyWarcraft 2andWarcraft 3, so his returncould herald the long-awaitedWarcraft 4, or possibly a re-remake ofWarcraft 3 Reforged. Speculation aside, most players and developers alike are simply happy to have Metzen back to work onWorld of Warcraft.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflightis available now for PC.
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