World of Warcraft producer reveals Chris Metzen sometimes regrets the Warcraft name

Warcraft stands as one of gaming's biggest franchises. From the RTS that transformed Blizzard into an industry giant to a dominant MMORPG with numerous sequels and spinoffs – over 30-plus years, Warcraft has become one of the most recognizable brands in entertainment.

Yet Chris Metzen, executive creative director of the Warcraft universe, sometimes regrets the name choice.

This tidbit emerged in a Game Business interview with World of Warcraft vice president and executive producer Holly Longdale and game director Ion Hazzikostas. Longdale expressed a desire to broaden the franchise's reach.

It's a fantastic IP. In my humble opinion, it's been underutilized and I just want to bring it to as many people as possible. And that means evolving what Warcraft means, what it is, and where it's going.

We want it to be approachable. Chris Metzen is sometimes like, 'I wish we hadn't called it Warcraft. It sounds intimidating'.

Longdale herself doesn't necessarily share this concern:

Nobody really thinks that about Warhammer. It's an understood name.

Metzen or anyone at Blizzard likely aren't seriously regretting the Warcraft name. It's more akin to a joke during marketing strategy discussions for new markets. Essentially, Longdale's right – concerns about the name are unfounded. There's a reason Warcraft became one of gaming's most famous brands.

Worth noting that the Warcraft name itself is probably the least intimidating part of a game featuring characters like Grommash Hellscream, Orgrim Doomhammer, Nekros Skullcrusher, and Lord Victor Nefarius, eldest son of Deathwing.

Some gamers on social media took the comments too seriously, worrying that Warcraft is going soft or forgetting its roots. Others point out the franchise has always been diverse – dark and serious, yet filled with humorous moments.

Longdale clarified the essence: Blizzard doesn't want to change Warcraft, but aims to bring more people to what the franchise has always been.

We want people to come in, hang out and have birthdays, weddings, raids, grand adventures, play with their friends, meet new friends… all the things that World of Warcraft has been good at for over 20 years. And at the same time, we want to take advantage of 20 years of stories that have been told and not told, and start bringing it out to the world in a broader way.

Recently, World of Warcraft added a housing system that instantly became popular among players, and Blizzard plans to develop this feature further.