Bobby Kotick Criticizes Warcraft Movie: 'One of the Worst Films Ever'

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. He noted that the movie project, which was initiated before Activision's ownership of Blizzard, consumed substantial resources and pulled developers away from their core work. Kotick lamented the distraction, saying, "You think about all these people who make video games for a living, and now they have the chance to make a movie. They're helping with the casting, and they're on the set, and... it's just a huge distraction."

Despite its domestic underperformance, grossing only $47 million in North America, Warcraft achieved 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 meet the financial expectations set by its substantial budget, leading Legendary Pictures to deem it a failure.

Kotick revealed that Metzen took the movie's reception personally before leaving to start a board game company. He later "begged" Metzen to return to Blizzard on a consultancy basis. Upon his return, Metzen was critical of the plans for the next two expansions, suggesting they needed a complete overhaul. Kotick admitted to minimal interaction with Metzen after his return, stating, "What am I going to tell Chris Metzen about game design, you know? I just wanted him to do his thing."

The influence of Metzen's return was evident in the last expansion, which Kotick praised, saying, "The last expansion, he had his fingertips all over it. It's excellent. The next one is going to be great." This sentiment was echoed in our World of Warcraft The War Within review, where 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."