Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick slammed the 2016 Warcraft film adaptation as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen" in a recent Grit interview. Kotick, who helmed Activision Blizzard for 32 years before his departure in December 2023, attributed the film's negative impact to several key issues within Blizzard.
He cited the movie as a significant distraction for the World of Warcraft development team, contributing to delays in expansions and patches. Kotick highlighted the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016, directly linking it to the film's production. He described Metzen as "the heart and soul of creativity" at Blizzard and stated that the movie's demanding resource allocation and extensive involvement of game developers in its production led to Metzen's burnout.
The film, while a box office success internationally (particularly in China, where it temporarily held the title of most successful video game adaptation), significantly underperformed in North America, grossing only $47 million domestically. Its massive budget ultimately resulted in Legendary Pictures deeming it a financial failure.
Kotick revealed that Metzen took the film's production personally and subsequently left to establish a board game company. Kotick later attempted to persuade Metzen to return as a consultant, but Metzen expressed dissatisfaction with the planned expansions, advocating for a complete overhaul.
Despite a subsequent reconciliation and Metzen's involvement in a later expansion, Kotick admitted limited interaction with Metzen afterward, deferring to his expertise. The positive reception of that expansion, which received a 9/10 rating in our World of Warcraft The War Within review, is seen as evidence of Metzen's continued influence and the game's revitalized quality. Kotick expressed confidence in the upcoming expansion as well.
