Metzen began his career in design after applying to
Blizzard Entertainment, then known as Chaos Studios, on the recommendation of a friend impressed by his
napkin doodle of a
dragon. He 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. Later video games by Blizzard Entertainment would frequently include Metzen's work in manual design, illustration and
concept art. However, Metzen's role in developing later
Warcraft games increased significantly with 1995's
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, which gave him the opportunity to work on the game's fantasy-based
fictional universe in addition to designing the game's various
scenarios and missions. In 1996, Blizzard Entertainment launched its second major franchise with the role-playing game
Diablo.
Diablos fictional universe was created by
David Brevik, Metzen, and
Bill Roper. Metzen also provided
voice acting for some of the game's characters. On occasion, Metzen would provide voice talent for later video games. In 1998 he took the role of lead designer on the science fiction
strategy game
StarCraft. Along with James Phinney, Metzen again provided the game's extensive story and script, as well as organizing the
voice casting for the game. In 1999, Metzen wrote a short story set in the
StarCraft universe with fellow Blizzard Entertainment employee Sam Moore. The story, entitled
Revelations, was published in the spring issue of
Amazing Stories with cover artwork by
Samwise Didier. Returning to the
Diablo series in 2000 with
Diablo II, Metzen worked on the game's story, script and artwork. In 2001, he published a novel set in the
Warcraft universe, entitled
Of Blood and Honor. With 2002's
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Metzen was the creative director, a role he would hold in all of Blizzard's later video games, and provided the game's story concept and script. Metzen's work with 2004's
massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft was not as extensive as his earlier work, but he still contributed with script writing, artwork and voice work. Metzen announced in early 2005 that he was working on a
graphic novel series independent of Blizzard Entertainment. The series, entitled
Soldier: 76, is set in a second American civil war in 2010, with increased domestic and global terror threats and the increase in power for the
US federal government over that of local state governments serving as a background. Metzen wrote the series' script, while Brazilian artist Max Velati was responsible for the illustration and painting of the book. Soldier: 76 would later appear as a character in
Overwatch, Blizzard's online first-person shooter game, released in May 2016. Chris Metzen teamed with author
Flint Dille and artist Livio Ramondelli to create the 12-part, bi-weekly digital comic series
Transformers: Autocracy.
Autocracy was published by
IDW Publishing in 2012. The series focused on the days just before the Great War. It is set after
Megatron Origin, and presents the Decepticons as an established force, sowing dissent across Cybertron primarily through terrorist actions. The series focuses on
Orion Pax, an Autobot commander charged with rooting out these cells.
Transformers: Autocracy was released as a collected Trade Paperback in July 2012 with a bonus foreword authored by Metzen.
Autocracy was followed by
Transformers: Monstrosity in 2013 and
Transformers: Primacy in 2014. Metzen made a cameo appearance in the 2016
Warcraft film, as a turbaned perfume vendor in Stormwind. On September 12, 2016, Metzen announced that he was retiring from Blizzard Entertainment after nearly twenty-three years with the company. In November 2018, Metzen made an appearance at Blizzcon 2018 in the World of Warcraft Q&A line, where he inquired about the return of the Horde's "true Warchief". Afrasiabi responded that if a fictional job board opening were to be posted needing a Warchief, that he (Afrasiabi) would give Metzen a call. He 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. Metzen voiced the Dragon-King Avizandum in the third season of the
Netflix's animated series
The Dragon Prince. He reprised his role as Thrall once again in
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. Blizzard announced Metzen's return to the company in December 2022, as a creative advisor for the
Warcraft franchise. His focus at Blizzard is planned to expand to other properties in the future. In September 2023 it was announced on the Warcraft Facebook page that Chris Metzen has transitioned into the role of Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft universe. ==Personal life and artistic influences==