Blizzard Exec Scorches 'Warcraft' Movie as Abysmal

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 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 film's drain on resources and the involvement of game developers in aspects like casting and on-set work, diverting them from their core responsibilities. He directly linked the film's production to the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016, calling Metzen "the heart and soul of creativity" at the company and stating that Metzen felt burnt out by the project.

Kotick revealed that the deal for the Warcraft movie was signed before Activision acquired Blizzard, leaving them committed to a project he believed was ill-conceived. Despite the film's international success, grossing $439 million globally (though failing to recoup its massive budget), Kotick described it as a considerable setback for Blizzard. He even admitted to "begging" Metzen to return as a consultant after his departure to establish a board game company, only to find Metzen critical of the planned expansions, advocating for a complete overhaul.

While the Warcraft movie underperformed domestically, earning only $47 million in North America, its international success, particularly in China, temporarily made it the highest-grossing video game adaptation. However, this success couldn't offset the financial losses incurred by Legendary Pictures due to the film's substantial budget.

Despite limited post-return collaboration with Metzen, Kotick expressed confidence in the quality of recent World of Warcraft expansions, particularly the last one, which he credited Metzen's influence upon. This expansion received a highly positive 9/10 rating in a review by [source omitted, referring to a 9/10 review]. Kotick believes the future expansions will maintain this high standard.