Former Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick Slams Warcraft Film, Calls It 'One of the Worst Movies I've Ever Seen'

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 resource diversion and creative team burnout, citing it as a significant factor in the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016.

Kotick described Metzen as the "heart and soul of creativity" at Blizzard, emphasizing the significant toll the film's production took on the World of Warcraft development team. He stated that the movie, a pre-existing agreement before Activision's acquisition, consumed substantial resources and significantly distracted developers. This led to delays in World of Warcraft expansions and patches.

While the Warcraft film's international success, particularly in China, generated $439 million for Legendary Pictures, its domestic performance ($47 million) and failure to recoup its massive budget ultimately led to its being considered a financial disappointment. Kotick revealed that Metzen, deeply affected by the film's production, left to pursue a board game company. Despite Kotick's attempts to persuade Metzen to return as a consultant, Metzen expressed dissatisfaction with planned expansions, advocating for their complete overhaul.

Following Metzen's brief consultancy, Kotick noted limited further interaction, stating he aimed to allow Metzen creative autonomy. However, Kotick highlighted Metzen's substantial influence on the subsequent World of Warcraft expansion, praising its quality and anticipating the success of the next. This latest expansion received high praise, achieving a 9/10 rating in a review by [source publication name redacted for paraphrasing], which described it as a revitalizing experience for the long-running MMO.