World of Warcraft has announced that Chris Metzen, one of the core architects of the Warcraft universe and a beloved figure to most Blizzard fans, has officially assumed the role of its Creative Director. Metzen initially retired from Blizzard Entertainment in September 2016, shortly after the launch of Legion, considered one of the best World of Warcraft expansions. His concept art was not only responsible for giving the Warcraft franchise its iconic look, but the creative decisions that he pushed for during development have come to define the World of Warcraft of both past and present.
Metzen returned to Blizzard Entertainment as a creative advisor in December 2022, and now as the Creative Director of the Warcraft franchise, he will have the opportunity to define World of Warcraft's future. Public opinion on the expansions that followed his departure was notably low, with many players considering Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands to be a low point in the game's storied history. By contrast, Dragonflight launched to a cautiously excited audience, and by the end of its first major content patch, had established itself as one of the better expansion packs in terms of story and characters.
Though it would be folly to pin the success of the latest World of Warcraft expansion on Metzen's shoulders alone, the players see his return as the culmination of all the goodwill earned through the creative decisions made in Dragonflight, and a sign that good things are on the horizon for Azeroth. The announcement was posted on Twitter by the official World of Warcraft account, with a tease that Chris Metzen and his team would once again take the stage during BlizzCon to share what's next in store for the Warcraft universe.
With Patch 10.2 on the horizon, World of Warcraft players are enjoying a steady stream of high-quality content, as Dragonflight's ambitious roadmap continues to meet their expectations. Though some of the criticisms levied against the Trading Post were not unfounded, for the most part, Dragonflight has been received much better than its predecessors – with new features such as dragonriding, or adding a third specialization to the Evoker, being the key highlights.
Though it remains to be seen where the new chapter of Azeroth will take its champions, players have already begun to speculate on the release date for the next World of Warcraft expansion. With the possibility of Cataclysm coming to Classic servers, fans are also hoping that Blizzard has been setting the stage for a new world revamp. That being said, Metzen's appointment as Creative Director is bound to at least guarantee that Azeroth will feel right, no matter where the story takes place.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.