Christopher Vincent Metzen was born on November 22,1973 and is an American game designer, artist, voice actor, and author known for his work creating the fictional universes and scripts for Blizzard Entertainment's three major award-winning media franchises: Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft.
19 Facts About Chris Metzen
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Chris Metzen was the Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment and assisted the company's projects by providing voice talent for a number of characters, most notably the orc character Thrall, as well as contributing to artistic character design.
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Chris Metzen retired in September 2016 to spend more time with his family, but returned to the company as a creative advisor in December 2022.
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Chris Metzen began his career in design after applying to Blizzard Entertainment, then known as Chaos Studios, on the recommendation of a friend who had seen his work.
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Chris Metzen was quickly recruited by the company, although Metzen states that at the time he did not really know what Blizzard Entertainment dealt with, assuming it was a graphic design studio rather than a video game developer.
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Around the same time, Chris Metzen contributed to 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans by working on artwork, illustrations and the game's documentation.
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On occasion, Chris Metzen would provide voice talent for later video games.
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In 1999, Chris Metzen wrote a short story set in the StarCraft universe with fellow Blizzard Entertainment employee Sam Moore.
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Chris Metzen announced in early 2005 that he was working on a graphic novel series independent of Blizzard Entertainment.
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Chris Metzen wrote the series' script, while Brazilian artist Max Velati was responsible for the illustration and painting of the book.
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Chris Metzen teamed with author Flint Dille and artist Livio Ramondelli to create the 12-part, bi-weekly digital comic series Transformers: Autocracy.
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Chris Metzen made a cameo appearance in the 2016 Warcraft film, as a turbaned perfume vendor in Stormwind.
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On September 12,2016, Chris Metzen announced that he was retiring from Blizzard Entertainment after nearly twenty-three years with the company.
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Chris Metzen returned to the role of Thrall for the "Safe Haven" cinematic, released in May 2019, and voiced Thrall in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth.
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Chris Metzen voiced the Dragon-King Avizandum in the third season of the Netflix's animated series The Dragon Prince.
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Chris Metzen reprised his role as Thrall in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.
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Chris Metzen's focus at Blizzard is planned to expand to other properties in the future.
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Chris Metzen first started creating comics at the age of twelve, but he held an interest in drawing since at least six.
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Chris Metzen defines his artistic style as having been "heavily influenced by Walt Simonson's and Jim Lee's pencilling styles for form" while preferring the "costuming, themes and general feel of Larry Elmore and Keith Parkinson's fantasy paintings".