Chris Metzen

Chris Metzen is an American writer, artist and voice actor who shaped the stories of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo series. He joined Blizzard as a young artist in 1994, became the company's chief storyteller, and is the voice of Thrall. After retiring in 2016 he returned in 2022, and he has led the creative direction of the Warcraft universe since 2023.

Early career

Metzen was hired by Blizzard in 1994, at about 19 years old. By his own account he met Blizzard staff at a band gig in Orange County, and they were impressed by a dragon he had doodled on a napkin. He later said he did not really know what the company made when he walked in; he assumed it was a graphic design studio.

His first job was art and character animation for the fighting game Justice League Task Force. He arrived late in the development of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) and contributed illustrations and work on the manual. While drawing and animating, he found he had a talent for storytelling. The original Warcraft story had been worked out by the design team, including Allen Adham and Ron Millar, with lore by Bill Roper.

Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995) gave Metzen his first big writing role. He built out the setting, designed missions and scenarios, did artwork, and voiced characters. The events of that game became the Second War in later lore.

He worked on all three of Blizzard's major series in the late 1990s:

• Diablo (1996): he helped create the setting with David Brevik and Bill Roper, and voiced characters including King Leoric.
• StarCraft (1998): he wrote the story and script with James Phinney and organized the voice casting. He also voiced the Terran Marine, the Battlecruiser and the Ghost.
• Diablo II (2000): story, script and artwork.

In 2001 he published Of Blood and Honor, a Warcraft novella about Tirion Fordring and the orc Eitrigg. With Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002) he became creative director, the role he then held across Blizzard's games. He wrote the story and script of Warcraft III, which carried the series into the Third War, and voiced Thrall and Rexxar.

Over time he became Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development, with oversight of the lore of every Blizzard series. He also supervised the lore of the Warcraft roleplaying game books, novels and manga, and co-wrote the World of Warcraft: Chronicle history books (2015-2018) with Matt Burns and Robert Brooks.

Work on World of Warcraft

Metzen's hands-on work on World of Warcraft (2004) was smaller than on Warcraft III, but he still contributed writing, art and voices. In a 2009 BlizzCast interview, Blizzard described part of his job as working with the artists to make the world feel continuous and coherent. Jeff Kaplan, one of the game's first quest designers, described his own job as acting as a go-between for Metzen's story ideas and the level designers.

His voice is all over the original game. Warcraft Wiki lists these Classic-era characters among his roles:

Kaplan said in a 2006 New York Times interview that the voice of Nefarian heard during the Blackwing Lair encounter was probably Metzen's. Metzen continued to voice Thrall in later expansions and also voiced Varian Wrynn, Vol'jin and others.

Retirement and return

On September 12, 2016, after nearly 23 years at Blizzard, Metzen announced his retirement in a post on the company's forums. He said he was not leaving for another project but stepping back to focus on his family. He had also been a co-producer of the 2016 Warcraft film and wrote the story for its tie-in novels. The last Warcraft project he finished before leaving was the intro cinematic for Battle for Azeroth. He kept voicing Thrall during his time away.

On December 15, 2022, Blizzard announced that Metzen had rejoined the Warcraft leadership team as a creative advisor. In September 2023 he became Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft universe, a title shortened in 2024 to Franchise Creative Director. At BlizzCon 2023 he announced the Worldsoul Saga, a story told over three expansions: The War Within, Midnight and The Last Titan.

In-game tributes

The best-known tribute in Classic is Metzen the Reindeer, one of Greatfather Winter's eight reindeer. In the Feast of Winter Veil quest Metzen the Reindeer, someone has kidnapped Metzen from Smokywood Pastures and two groups have sent ransom notes. The notes, collected in [Metzen's Letters and Notes], point to a Dark Iron camp in Searing Gorge and a Southsea pirate hideout in Tanaris. Players find Metzen, free him with a [Pouch of Reindeer Dust], and receive a stack of [Preserved Holly], which turns their mount into a reindeer.

The same notes include a parody of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" that names the other reindeer after Blizzard developers, among them Chilton, Kaplan, Nagle and Pardo.

Warcraft Wiki records other nods in later content: Avenger Metz of the Argent Crusade resembles Metzen's old Sons of the Storm avatar, and the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game has a draenei shaman called Shem Reznict, an anagram of his name.

Sources

• Chris Metzen (Wikipedia)
• Chris Metzen (Warcraft Wiki)
• Of Blood and Honor (Warcraft Wiki)
• Metzen the Reindeer (Warcraft Wiki)
• Metzen's Letters and Notes (Warcraft Wiki)
• Interview: Jeff Kaplan on World of Warcraft Expansion (The New York Times, 2006)
• Warcraft Veteran Chris Metzen is Now Executive Creative Director of the Franchise (GamingBolt)