Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick slammed Universal's 2016 Warcraft film adaptation, calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen" in a candid interview with Grit. Kotick, who led Activision Blizzard for 32 years before stepping down in December 2023, attributed the film's negative impact to the distraction it caused within the World of Warcraft development team, contributing to the departure of veteran designer Chris Metzen in 2016.

Kotick described Metzen as "the heart and soul of creativity" at the company. He explained that the Warcraft film, a deal signed before Activision's acquisition, consumed significant resources and diverted developers' attention. He detailed the resulting setbacks: delayed expansions, missed patch deadlines, and a significant drain on resources. "You think about all these people who make video games for a living, and now they have the chance to make a movie," Kotick said, highlighting the disruption caused by involvement in casting and on-set work.

Despite the film's international success, grossing $439 million globally (though underperforming domestically with only $47 million), its massive budget prevented it from breaking even, leading Legendary Pictures to consider it a failure. Kotick stated that Metzen took the film's impact personally, leading to his departure to found a board game company. Kotick later attempted to persuade Metzen to return as a consultant, but Metzen expressed dissatisfaction with plans for subsequent expansions, advocating for a complete overhaul.

Following Metzen's brief return, Kotick revealed limited further interaction, stating, "What am I going to tell Chris Metzen about game design?" He expressed confidence in the quality of the subsequent expansion, crediting Metzen's involvement, stating that the last expansion was "excellent" and that the next one "is going to be great." This last expansion received high praise, earning a 9/10 score in a World of Warcraft: The War Within review, described 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."