In a revealing interview on Grit, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who stepped down in December 2023 after a 32-year tenure, expressed strong disapproval of Universal's 2016 adaptation of Activision Blizzard's Warcraft. Kotick labeled the film as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen," and highlighted its detrimental impact on the development of World of Warcraft. He pointed out that the movie served as a significant distraction for the Blizzard team, which he believes contributed to veteran designer Chris Metzen's departure from the company in 2016.

Kotick praised Metzen as "the heart and soul of creativity" at Activision Blizzard, noting his burnout and subsequent exit. He criticized the decision to make the Warcraft movie, explaining that it was already in the works when Activision acquired Blizzard. "It took a lot of resources and distracted [developers at Blizzard]," Kotick stated, emphasizing how the film's production led to delays in game expansions and patches.

Despite its domestic underperformance, grossing only $47 million in North America, Warcraft managed to become the most successful video game adaptation internationally at the time, thanks to its popularity in China. However, with a total global box office of $439 million, Legendary Pictures considered the film a financial disappointment due to its hefty budget.

Kotick revealed that Metzen took the movie's failure personally and left to start a board game company. He later "begged" Metzen to return to Blizzard on a consultancy basis. Upon his return, Metzen was critical of the plans for the next two expansions, insisting they needed a complete overhaul. Kotick admitted to minimal interaction with Metzen post-return, acknowledging Metzen's significant influence on the last expansion, which Kotick described as "excellent" and anticipated the next one to be "great."

Our review of the last expansion, World of Warcraft: The War Within, echoed Kotick's sentiments, awarding it a 9/10. We praised it as "the best World of Warcraft has been on all fronts in many years, making this two-decade-old MMO feel fresh and thrilling again."