BlizzCon 2023 recap: The triumphant return of Chris Metzen pushes Blizzard past some missed opportunities
Nov. 4, 2023OPINION: World of Warcraft stole the show at BlizzCon this year
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World of Warcraft reigns supreme
These missed opportunities to lay down a marker for the future were of course disappointing, although I don’t imagine many players will care based on the strength of the final third of the showcase and the subsequent franchise deep-dives. Blizzard’s biggest mistake was not leading BlizzCon with the triumphant return of Chris Metzen – a key architect of the World of Warcraft franchise, returning from retirement as executive creative director to guide one of thebest MMOsof all-time through a trilogy of expansions.The Wondersoul Saga is significant, and probably the most overtly exciting thing to happen to WoW in a decade.
Hearing Metzen lead rallying cries for the Alliance and the Horde for the first time in seven years was enough to lift the spirits of even the most jaded lapsed players. He has a way of selling the World of Warcraft fantasy unlike any other spokesperson; his presence, combined with shrewd insights from general manager John Hight and executive producer Holly Langdale, help push World of Warcraft into an enviable position. The 20th anniversary is on the horizon, and between The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan expansions there’s plenty to get excited about.
The strength of the Warcraft presentation at BlizzCon has even got me thinking about returning to Hearthstone, or at least downloading Warcraft Rumble ahead of my flight back to GamesRadar+ HQ. I’m not going to lie, news that Hearthstone is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary almost turned my bones to dust, but I was pretty damn impressed by what the team put forward – carefully striking a balance between appealing to new, lapsed, and legacy players. That’s a trifecta of enduring problems that every Blizzard studio faces at one time or another, but Hearthstone is navigating those waters deftly with a new co-operative game mode, fun seasonal content, and catch-up card packs.
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Take a step back from all of the noise and announcements, not to mention the truly incredible art installations celebrating each of Blizzard’s core franchises, adorning each of the convention center halls, and you’ll see a lot of theseonly at BlizzConmoments emerging organically. That’s what I want to remember. The group of impeccably dressed Overwatch cosplayers weaving between photo requests to get in-line to try Mauga, the new Overwatch 2 tank arriving this December. I want to remember the trio of fans I met who queued for hours to get matching Diablo 4 tattoos, all in celebration of their friendship forged in the fires of hell back in 1996.
Josh West is the Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+’s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you’ve definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.
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