Chris Metzen

Pirates make everything better, so if Blizzard's announcement that World of Warcraft now has a standalone battle royale mode isn't enough to get your tootsies twitching with excitement, then how about this: it's called Plunderstorm and is all about the piratical booty.

Today Christie Golden, writer, author, and storyteller, announced on Twitter that she is no longer an employee at Blizzard and was let go in the last round of layoffs. Golden has been working on Blizzard IPs for over 25 years, the last 6+ directly as an employee on Blizzard's Story & Franchise Development Team. While never an employee on the World of Warcraft team directly, Golden contributed cinematic scripts and short stories for the franchise while at Blizzard. Separately, Golden has written novel tie-ins for the game both before and during her employment at the company. Some of Golden's notable contributions to WoW are:

In an interview with PC Gamer, former Narrative Director Steve Danuser confirmed his quiet departure from Blizzard last November, concluding an eight year career with the World of Warcraft development team from Warlords of Draenor through Dragonflight. Responsible for guiding the World of Warcraft story and collaborating with other teams to develop the ongoing narrative, Danuser was a particularly visible member of the team, participating in several different interviews, which naturally made the director a target of community feedback throughout the very divisive reception of Shadowlands story arcs, though early Dragonflight content was generally better received. As reported by PC Gamer, Danuser says his departure wasn't related to the return of Chris Metzen, who has largely been celebrated as the mastermind of the upcoming three-expansion World Soul Saga — he was simply ready for something new after working on the same game for eight years. Wanting to continue working remotely was also a factor, as Blizzard finally began to enforce their long-expected return to office policy. While his role as narrative director guided most of the ongoing narrative, some of the parts he personally worked on include:

Have you been enjoying the storylines in World of Warcraft lately? We have some news for you.

In the world of real-time-strategy PC games, one of the most promising upcoming titles is by Frost Giant Studios. A melding of classic games like and, the upcoming free-to-play RTS was fueled by community passion and is shaping up to be a shining beacon of light in what otherwise feels like a dark cavern that once was a strong RTS gaming scene. Led by former game developers, producers, and directors from all the best RTS titles of the past, 's beta will be playable for everyone for the first time ever next month.

Blizzard has revealed the roadmap leading up to the beginning of its massive Worldsoul Saga, the three-part series of expansions that's expected to kick off in 2024.

In an interview with World of Warcraft's player-led Community Council, game director Ion Hazzikostas weighed in on issues with the game's story and the steep narrative learning curve faced by newcomers. 

In a recent interview with WoW's community council (thanks, WoWhead), the game's current director Ion Hazzikostas was asked about the current state of the story, and how dang hard it is to introduce new players to its extensive lore.

Following the Community Council Live Chat on December 8, a member of the Community Council asked a series of questions on the forums to which WoW Classic Senior Producer Josh Greenfield responded. Sharing some insight on the development of Season of Discovery and Cataclysm Classic, which you can read below --

A new was revealed at the 2023 Game Awards, giving fans a look at Simu Liu‘s presence in the game. Stormgate is set to launch on PC through Steam Early Access in summer 2024.

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In a video interview with IGN, General Manager John Hight and Executive Producer Holly Longdale discussed the future of Warcraft, from Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) style expansions to potential movies!

Just ten days after the release of the long-awaited Guardians of the Dream update (which added the Emerald Dream zone, the Amirdrassil raid, and a new season to the MMORPG), World of Warcraft fans were treated to a preview of the next major patch.

«Sometimes, very epic things can begin with small, heartfelt moments. What you're about to see is one of those moments.» This is how Chris Metzen introduced the cinematic trailer for The War Within, and sure enough, the scene that opens is a simple one. No action, no world-shattering event or dragonriding race, just the passive figure of Anduin, recognizable by his sword Shalamayne, seated in the desert. Apart from serene orchestral music, the only sound at first is the wind, shifting the sands and gently pulling at Anduin's cloak, a simple cloak of white — grey and dirty from use. Shalamayne is dark, the Light that usually glows in a hollow in the blade's center has gone out. We can see it's twilight — whether the sun is rising or setting, the day is in a transitional period, in between darkness and light. Anduin, we can't help but notice, is facing the darker section of the sky. The camera moves over Anduin's face showing his aged skin, the fact that he has a beard. It's been a long time since we last saw Anduin: the three-year time skip between Shadowlands and Dragonflight, as well as the entirety of Dragonflight. Shalamayne twists back and forth in the sand, first one way, then another, as Anduin clenches and releases his grip. Anduin's eyes are unseeing, he's not thinking about moving the sword, it's a subconscious act reflecting his inner turmoil. Everything about this scene reinforces the themes of indecision as if Anduin himself is stuck, like the sky, halfway between the darkness and the light. He sighs, and closes his eyes, and we see a vision of Azeroth, not the planet, but the World Soul that dwells within. In appearance, the soul is like a planet covered in seas of Light. The colors we associate with Azerite are there — gold and blue — but as the light streams out from the soul, there are also hints of red and purple, colors we associate with Shadowflame and the Void. The world soul whispers a name.

Most Warcraft fans expected an expansion announcement for the massively multiplayer RPG at last weekend’s BlizzCon 2023. But to hear Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas tell it, Blizzard Entertainment’s bold decision to debut the next three expansions at once made even its own leaders nervous.

When released in August of 2019, it served a very vocal player base who insisted that, contrary to popular belief, you go home again. Earlier doubts about this retrograde design concept were roundly dashed when countless WoW fans, new and old, entered the game as it manifested back in 2006, running on modern technology and infused with MMO nostalgia. It was a hit.

Taliesin and Evitel cover the latest news in The Weekly Reset. This week the show was taped at BlizzCon with a live audience, and talks about the new expansions, BlizzCon announcements, grizzled bearded Anduin, and reactions to the pre-purchase announcement...

For a long time, the World of Warcraft vanilla experience was relegated to private servers (such as Nostalrius, which was shut down) until Blizzard finally decided to accept the community's feedback and create World of Warcraft Classic.

During BlizzCon 2023, the World of Warcraft team announced that the next few expansions would be releasing at a faster pace than players are used to, highlighted by the fact that the MMO developer showcased the next three expansions on stage. The team's development process to do so apparently is a result of feedback from Shadowlands' glacial pace of content releases, according to the developers in a group interview over the weekend.

Sitting in the press room, watching the BlizzCon 2023 opening ceremony this year as returning Warcraft Executive Creative Director Chris Metzen take the stage to reveal the next three World of Warcraft expansions, I was reminded of Marvel’s Kevin Feige announcing entire new slates of movies coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at Comic-Con.

There was a lot of World of Warcraft news to unpack at BlizzCon 2023. Developer Blizzard Entertainment unveiled the Worldsoul Saga, a seismic story that will unfold over three expansions – beginning with The War Within in 2024. With a new region to explore, hero talents to unlock, and plenty more besides, it's proving difficult for individual features to break out over the noise. Well, besides the introduction of Delves, that is. 

Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2023 that World of Warcraft's next three expansions will be part of a larger narrative called The Worldsoul Saga. To learn more, IGN had the chance to speak to WoW vice president Holly Longdale and Warcraft SVP & general manager John Hight about why the team chose to make this saga three expansions and why it's going to be a bit like the MCU.

In a group interview with Associate Design Director Maria Hamilton and Lead World Artist Kristy Moret at BlizzCon 2023, the developers discussed the future of WoW in The War Within expansion including narrative focus, zone design, Warbands, Dynamic Flight, and AI at Blizzard.

During a group interview with Associate Design Director Maria Hamilton and Lead World Artist Kristi Moray at BlizzCon 2023, we've learned that the three expansion Worldsoul Saga is set to conclude before 2030!

Many World Of Warcraft expansions add a new continent, but The War Within, announced at Blizzcon this weekend, is a little different. It's set in a new subterranean world beneath Azeroth - and it kicks off a three-expansion story arc Blizzard are caling The Worldsoul Saga.

When Anduin was just a child, the Prophet Velen foresaw that he would one day lead an army of Light against the forces of the Void. With the announcement of the Worldsoul Saga, it finally looks like this prophecy might come to pass!

Yesterday, Chris Metzen (who returned to Blizzard only about a month ago) took the stage at BlizzCon 2023 to announce the Worldsoul Saga, which is set to span the next three World of Warcraft expansions.

BlizzCon has brought big news for World of Warcraft fans as the MMO prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year; Blizzard's announced not only its next expansion, The War Within, but the two coming after that, all forming chapters in the newly revealed Worldsoul Saga.

During Blizzcon’s opening key note, Blizzard revealed the next three expansions for World of Warcraft. Dubbed the Worldsoul Saga, the storylines of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth expansions will weave together as a cohesive narrative.

Faster leveling speeds and new dungeon difficulties are coming when Cataclysm Classic launches in the first half of 2024.

BlizzCon 2023 has just seen the reveal of the next three World of Warcraft expansions, under the banner of the Worldsoul Saga.

Blizzard has confirmed that World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic is coming.

Blizzard announced three new World of Warcraft expansions at BlizzCon on Friday, as well as confirmation that Cataclysm will come to World of Warcraft Classic next year.

Speaking on stage at Blizzcon, Warcraft's executive creative director Chris Metzen has announced The Worldsoul Saga, an overarching story event for World of Warcraft that will encompass not the next expansion, but three more coming to the game.

World of Warcraft fans can usually expect a new expansion announcement at the yearly BlizzCon convention, but this year things were quite different. The recently returned Chris Metzen took to the stage to announce a whole “Worldsoul Saga,” which will play out over the next three expansions for the MMORPG. Those three expansions will be The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan.

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During BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard revealed the future of World of Warcraft as a trilogy of expansions titled the Worldsoul Saga. Warcraft Executive Creative Director Chris Metzen made his return to the BlizzCon stage to offer a glimpse into what’s to come for the popular MMORPG.

It’s no secret the venerable World of Warcraft has lost some ground in the MMORPG wars in recent years, but it seems like Blizzard is serious about regaining their dominant position. It was recently announced that Warcraft universe co-creator Chris Metzen was returning to lead the next generation of WoW adventures, and today at BlizzCon 2023, he took to the stage to reveal what that will entail.

Chris Metzen made a full-throated return to the World of Warcraft spotlight today, commanding the BlizzCon 2023 stage to announce not just one World of Warcraft expansion, but three expansions that will make up the «Worldsoul Saga.»

BlizzCon 2023 was a momentous event for World of Warcraft fans as Chris Metzen, one of the creative minds behind the game, took the stage to announce an ambitious project that promises to reshape the world of Azeroth in ways players have never seen before. The “Worldsoul Saga” is a groundbreaking trilogy of expansions that dives deep into the lore of Azeroth, exploring the mysteries of the titans and the worldsoul, and offering players an epic narrative journey spanning multiple expansions over the next few years.

Today at BlizzCon, Blizzard announced that the upcoming tenth, eleventh, and twelfth expansions to its ongoing popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, all three of which will be contained in a larger narrative called World of Warcraft: The Worldsoul Saga. The first of these will be entitled World of Warcraft: The War Within, and it's coming next year.

Blizzard's annual fan convention is back in a big way for 2023.

After several years as an online-only experience, or canceled outright, due to COVID-19 and controversies at the studio, BlizzCon is back to full force this year. BlizzCon 2023 kicks off on November 3 both in-person and online and Blizzard has released their schedule of panels. You can check out the schedule, below.

Previously only available to SDCC 2023 attendees, the limited edition World of Warcraft Grom Hellscream Signed Print by Chris Metzen is now available in the online Blizzard Gear Store. After his return to Blizzard late last year, Blizzard recently announced that Chris Metzen has been promoted to Executive Creative Director for the Warcraft Universe to craft the next generation of Warcraft adventures. Celebrate the origins of Warcraft and Chris Metzen's return with this limited edition Grom Hellscream artwork!

Taliesin and Evitel cover the latest news in The Weekly Reset. This week they talk about recent leaks and datamining leading to speculation on what the next expansion could be and what will be announced at Blizzcon.

Blizzard Entertainment has dated Warcraft Rumble.

This past week, Blizzard revealed Chris Metzen has taken on a more formal role as Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft universe. First, I hope he has taken some time to learn how to notice the warning signs of bad behavior so he can help prevent further harm to the devs working on the various games we love. In his statement after the news about it all broke, and so many people broke their silence, he indicated that he wanted to do better in the future. This is his chance to really be present and there for everyone. Secondly, there are a few fascinating tidbits in this announcement that piqued my interest. Maybe I’m just getting hyped for Blizzcon, but I wanted to delve further into some of this statement.

One developer had been with the company for 18 years.

Last night, talk of layoffs from Activision Blizzard affecting the Hearthstone team began to circulate, with several employees sharing the news. Among them was an engineer that had been with the company for 18 years.

Blizzard Entertainment has laid off a number of employees from its Hearthstone team.

Blizzard has revealed that longtime veteran Chris Metzen has returned to the company to work on WarCraft.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that a legendary series veteran will be returning to work on World of Warcraft as executive creative director. 

Blizzard has announced that Chris Metzen is now an executive creative director of its Warcraft universe. The announcement was made with a statement on social media platform X, which states that Metzen’s main focus will be to support the leadership of World of Warcraft in creating future content for the game.

Chris Metzen, the former senior vice president of story and franchise development at Blizzard, has returned to Warcraft, and this time it's for real. Blizzard announced today that Metzen has taken on a «full-time role» as the executive creative director of the Warcraft universe.

Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen — who retired from the studio back in 2016, only to rejoin at the end of last year — has been made executive creative director of Warcraft.

Original World of Warcraft creative director Chris Metzen returned to Blizzard as Warcraft creative advisor last December, and now he's been promoted to executive creative director for the series and will help shape "the next generation of adventures."

One of Warcraft's founding fathers is now back at Blizzard full-time.

Over the last few years, Blizzard has been hit with a lot of high-profile departures, but today the studio has announced one of the major names from their past is climbing back into the saddle. Chris Metzen worked a designer on many of Blizzard’s most beloved franchises, and is generally credited as the main creative mind behind the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo fictional universes. Back in 2016 Metzen retired as the ripe old age of 42 in order to focus on his family, but he quietly returned to Blizzard as an advisor late last year. Well, it seems he’s now stepping into a much bigger role.

Blizzard has announced that Chris Metzen, who returned to the company last year in a Creative Advisor role on Warcraft has now taken on a full time role as Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft universe. 

Blizzard Entertainment veteran Chris Metzen has been appointed as Warcraft’s executive creative director.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced today that Chris Metzen, former creative lead on multiple World of Warcraft expansions, is moving into a full time position as executive creative director on the Warcraft franchise once again.

Legendary game designer Chris Metzen has officially returned to Blizzard in a full-time role. He will now serve as the Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft universe with a main focus on World of Warcraft in particular. According to the announcement, Metzen will be at the upcoming BlizzCon 2023 to share what’s next for the Warcraft universe. At previous BlizzCon’s Metzen was often the one to reveal new expansions, which fans have surely missed.

Blizzard has announced on Twitter that Chris Metzen has been promoted to Executive Creative Director for the Warcraft Universe, with more of his work to be revealed at BlizzCon 2023.

In an interview with GameSpot, World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas hinted that another old-world revamp of Azeroth is “likely to happen”. The last time this happened was the 2010 WoW expansion Cataclysm. According to Hazzikostas, the development team would learn lessons from Cataclysm which got a lot of negative criticism for deleting parts of the 2004-era WoW that many players loved. The goal would be to use modern solutions to preserve currently existing pieces of the game.

World of Warcraft's game director and executive producer talk the impact of the game's more frequent content updates, what exactly Chris Metzen is up to, and how the team is reinventing itself.

Taliesin and Evitel cover the latest news in The Weekly Reset. This week they talk about Dragonriding racing, 10.1.7 features including Dreamsurges, the upcoming Secrets of Azeroth, and Chris Metzen's role in the next expansion…

Blizzard has unveiled some new exclusive merch to SDCC 2023 including aDiablo IV Hell Key, Diablo IV Lilith & Inarius LED Candle, and a Grom Hellscream Print Signed by Chris Metzen. Some of the merch is now available on the online Blizzard Gear Store. You’ll find several exclusives created for the event, including Overwatch 2 plush, Diablo 4 pins, plush, and a replica Hell Key, as well as items for Cute But Deadly, World of Warcraft, and more, including:

Blizzard has unveiled some new exclusive merch to SDCC 2023 including aDiablo IV Hell Key, Diablo IV Lilith & Inarius LED Candle, and a Grom Hellscream Print Signed by Chris Metzen. Some of the merch is now available on the online Blizzard Gear Store. You’ll find several exclusives created for the event, including Overwatch 2 plush, Diablo 4 pins, plush, and a replica Hell Key, as well as items for Cute But Deadly, World of Warcraft, and more, including:

Blizzard Entertainment struck gold with World of Warcraft and it has been dominating the MMO space for almost two decades. Overwatch was originally envisioned as Project Titan, a new MMORPG that would not be a part of the Diablo, Starcraft, or Warcraft franchises.