Chris Metzen is back at Blizzard as World of Warcraft's new Executive Creative Director

What you need to know

• Chris Metzen has been announced as the new Executive Creative Director for the Warcraft universe.
• Metzen left Blizzard in 2016, but rejoined the company at the end of 2022 in a part-time advisor role.
• Blizzard shared that Metzen's new role will be full time and involve supporting the World of Warcraft leadership in crafting "the next generation of adventures."

Blizzard announced today that Chris Metzen will return to the Warcraft universe in a full time position as the Executive Creative Director. Metzen has a long career at the company and was the Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development prior to his 2016 retirement.

Metzen's retirement from gaming was short-lived, as he shipped a board game project in 2021 that was followed up by a return in a part-time capacity as an advisor to Blizzard in late 2022.

Metzen's creative input has been a key foundation for the World of Warcraft franchise. He began working on Warcraft 1 in 1994 as a concept artist. He furthered his career with Blizzard by working on Diablo and providing voice talent for Starcraft. In 2002, Metzen became the creative director for Warcraft 3.

Blizzard tweeted the announcement of Metzen's return to a full-time role via the World of Warcraft Twitter account. Metzen then responded to the announcement by saying that working on Warcraft was "like coming home." 

The overall response to the announcement has been positive. Some fans are also speculating that Metzen's return could signal the reveal of a new expansion for Warcraft being announced at BlizzCon 2023 which is slated to take place in November.