Bobby Kotick Criticizes Warcraft Movie as 'One of the Worst'

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 criticism 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 negative impact on the development of World of Warcraft. He pointed out that the movie served as a significant distraction for the development team, contributing to delays in game expansions and patches.

Kotick also connected the film's production to the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016, describing Metzen as "the heart and soul of creativity" at the company. According to Kotick, the movie project, which was already in motion before Activision's acquisition of Blizzard, not only consumed substantial resources but also led to Metzen's burnout. Kotick noted that Metzen took the movie's failure personally and eventually left to start a board game company.

Despite the film's poor performance in North America, where it earned just $47 million, Warcraft achieved significant international success, particularly in China, and temporarily became the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. However, with a total of $439 million in global earnings, it did not break even on its hefty budget, leading Legendary Pictures to consider it a financial disappointment.

Kotick later "begged" Metzen to return to Blizzard on a consultancy basis. Although Metzen was critical of the plans for the next two expansions, suggesting they needed a complete overhaul, his influence was evident in the last expansion, World of Warcraft: The War Within, which received a glowing 9/10 in our review. 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."

Director Duncan Jones, who helmed the Warcraft movie, had envisioned a trilogy that would have followed "the fulfilling of Durotan’s promise to give his people a new home." However, these plans were canceled, leaving fans without a sequel.