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 several factors, including its distraction of the World of Warcraft development team and its contribution to the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016.
Kotick described Metzen as the "heart and soul of creativity" at the company. He stated that the movie, a pre-existing deal Activision inherited, consumed significant resources and diverted developer attention. The resulting consequences included delayed expansions and missed patch deadlines. Kotick emphasized the disruption caused by developers' involvement in film production, from casting to on-set work.
While the Warcraft film's North American box office performance was underwhelming ($47 million), its international success, particularly in China, pushed its global gross to $439 million. Despite this, Legendary Pictures considered the film a financial failure due to its substantial budget.
Kotick revealed that Metzen, deeply affected by the film's production, 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 their complete overhaul.
Following Metzen's brief return, their collaboration was minimal, with Kotick deferring to Metzen's expertise in game design. Kotick expressed confidence in the quality of the subsequent expansion, a sentiment echoed in a 9/10 review of World of Warcraft: The War Within, which praised the expansion for revitalizing the long-running MMO.
