Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has openly criticized Universal's 2016 adaptation of the company's hit game, Warcraft, labeling it as "one of the worst movies I've ever seen." During a revealing interview on Grit, Kotick, who led Activision Blizzard for 32 years before stepping down in December 2023, shared his disappointment with the film's impact on the development of World of Warcraft. He noted that the movie was a significant "distraction" for the team and played a role in the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016.

Kotick praised Metzen as "the heart and soul of creativity of the company," highlighting the designer's burnout and subsequent exit. He explained that the Warcraft movie, conceived before Activision acquired Blizzard, was a terrible idea in his view. The film's production drained resources and diverted attention from game development, leading to delays in expansions and patches. "Our expansions were late. You know, patches weren't getting done on time. And the movie was terr— it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen," Kotick lamented.

Despite the film's poor performance in North America, grossing only $47 million, it achieved significant success internationally, particularly in China, and temporarily became the highest-grossing video game adaptation ever. However, with a global total of $439 million, Legendary Pictures considered it a financial disappointment due to its high production costs.

Director Duncan Jones had ambitious plans for a Warcraft trilogy, aiming to fulfill the narrative of Durotan giving his people a new home, but these plans were ultimately canceled. Kotick revealed that Metzen took the film's failure personally before leaving to start a board game company. Kotick later "begged" Metzen to return to Blizzard on a consultancy basis, though Metzen was critical of the plans for the next two expansions, suggesting they needed a complete overhaul.

Despite limited interaction after Metzen's return, Kotick acknowledged the designer's significant influence on the last expansion, which received high praise. In our World of Warcraft The War Within review, we awarded it a 9/10, describing 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."