A sneaky departure which escaped the press before the fans – then PCGamer – don't stick their noses in it. Steve Danuser left Blizzard around last BlizzCon, sparking many theories; would he have clashed with Chris Metzen, the historic pen of the saga who returned to take the throne of creative director? None of that according to Danuser. Living for several years in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region, the return to the office requested by Blizzard convinced him to look elsewhere, among other things. “I wanted to continue working remotely because I firmly believe in the effectiveness of good online collaboration“, Danuser tells PCGamer. “And eight years on a single game is a long time. Help build the narrative direction of WoW for the years to come was as difficult as it was rewarding, but I increasingly wanted to exercise my creativity on new subjects.“
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The cycle of life, ultimately
Following this article, Blizzard publicly thanked Danuser for his “contributions” and wish her good luck. The community is less tender. The players have still not forgiven the unexpected narrative direction taken by Sylvanas from Battle for Azeroth ; from the burning of Teldrassil to its ambivalent role in Shadowlands, controversies abounded. Steve Danuser was deeply involved in the writing of Sylvanas, particularly in her relationship with Nathanos, her lover. The former narrative director also personally wrote the whispers of the ancient gods Il'gynoth and N'Zoth.
But if Steve Danuser had to choose only one extension, it would be Dragonflight. “I'm particularly proud of it, from the initial pitch defining the history, cultures and myths behind the expansion to planning the narrative milestones spread across the updates alongside my fantastic creative partners.“
The torch is taken up by Chris Metzen and his teams, who will continue the narrative threads started in Dragonflight gradually moving towards a conflict against the Celestial Titans. A three-stage plan defined as the “World Soul saga”, the first stage of which – The War Within expansion – will be released this year. We will head under the earth's crust of Azeroth towards the burrow of the terrible nerubians, a little too inclined to make pacts with the ancient gods, and will meet primordial dwarves, still made of stone, living in underground structures built by the Titans. Among others.