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 interview with Grit. Kotick, who helmed Activision Blizzard for 32 years before his departure in December 2023, attributed the film's negative impact to the significant distraction it caused within the World of Warcraft development team, contributing to the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016.
Kotick highlighted Metzen's crucial role as the "heart and soul of creativity" at the company. He explained that the movie, a pre-existing deal Activision inherited, consumed substantial resources and diverted developers' focus from their core game development responsibilities. This resulted in delays to World of Warcraft expansions and patches.
"They're helping with the casting, and they're on the set... it's just a huge distraction," Kotick stated, emphasizing the disruption to the game's development cycle.
Despite the film's international success, grossing $439 million globally (though falling short of breaking even due to its substantial budget), its domestic performance was weak, earning only $47 million in North America. Director Duncan Jones's plans for a trilogy, which would have centered on Durotan's quest for a new home for his people, were ultimately scrapped.
Kotick revealed that Metzen, deeply affected by the film's production, left to establish a board game company. Kotick subsequently attempted to persuade Metzen to return as a consultant, but Metzen expressed dissatisfaction with the planned expansions, advocating for a complete overhaul.
While their subsequent collaboration was limited, Kotick credits Metzen's involvement with the success of the latest World of Warcraft expansion, which received a glowing 9/10 review from [source: link to review], praising its revitalization of the long-running MMO.
