Bobby Kotick Criticizes Warcraft Film as 'One of the Worst Movies'

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 Warcraft. Kotick called it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen," and highlighted its negative impact on the development of World of Warcraft. He described the film project as a significant distraction for the team at Blizzard, contributing to delays in game expansions and patches.

Kotick pointed out that the movie was a factor in the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen, whom he described as "the heart and soul of creativity of the company." Metzen left in 2016, reportedly burnt out and disillusioned, particularly after the movie's production, which Kotick felt was a terrible idea from the start. The film, which had been greenlit before Activision's acquisition of Blizzard, not only diverted resources but also involved Blizzard's developers in aspects like casting and on-set activities, further hampering game development efforts.

Despite its domestic underperformance, earning just $47 million in North America, Warcraft achieved international success, becoming the top-grossing video game adaptation at the time, thanks largely to its popularity in China. However, with a global box office of $439 million, it failed to break even on its substantial budget, leading Legendary Pictures to deem it a failure.

Kotick shared that Metzen took the movie's outcome "very personally" before leaving to start a board game company. Eventually, Kotick "begged" Metzen to return as a consultant, although Metzen was critical of the plans for the next two expansions, suggesting they needed a complete overhaul.

Despite limited direct communication after Metzen's return, Kotick praised his significant influence on the last expansion, The War Within, which received a glowing 9/10 in our review. We lauded 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."

While fans of the Warcraft movie may never see a sequel, director Duncan Jones had envisioned a trilogy that would have seen the fulfillment of Durotan’s promise to find a new home for his people, a narrative arc that was never realized due to the film's commercial performance.