WoW Creator Leaves Blizzard After 13 Years

Chris Kaleiki - one of the creators of World of Warcraft - left the studio after 13 years of work. The developer admitted that he is dissatisfied with the direction of game's development.

IN A NUTSHELL:

One of the creators of World of Warcraft, Chris Kaleiki, has left Blizzard Entertainment;
The developer worked for the company for 13 years and was responsible for numerous elements of WoW content;
Chris Kaleiki is unhappy with the direction the game has taken;
This includes moving away from guilds and social aspects to make the game easier for those who prefer to play solo.

One of the creators of World of Warcraft and long-time employees of Blizzard Entertainment - Chris Kaleiki - decided to leave the studio after thirteen years of work. The developer told about his decision in a video published on YouTube. The material reveals, among other things, that he is not satisfied with how WoW looks nowadays.

One of the reasons for Chris Kaleiki's dissatisfaction is the fact that the iconic MMO stopped emphasizing guilds and encouraging players to organize themselves in smoothly functioning communities. In his opinion, such an approach, although it may suit players who prefer to play solo, is against the basic idea of the genre.

"For a while now, probably too long, I've just been unhappy with the state of the game. I think in Classic the guild's a big deal. To do anything at endgame you really need to be in a guild. What this does is it creates interdependence among players, where they really need each other in order to be successful. And I think this can feel really restrictive at times, but ultimately what it really does is it creates cohesion, it creates community," said the developer.

Instead of complicated team content and emphasis on the social aspects of the game, WoW is now betting on a storyline, which fits more traditional single-player RPGs.

"Warcraft and WoW has always had a story, but lately I think in the modern game the story is just a bigger part of it. The characters and all their own dramas really soak up a lot of air in the game. Whereas I think in a virtual world, in an MMO, really the players are the story," said Kaleiki.

The developer emphasizes that there is nothing wrong with the game idea that is currently being implemented in World of Warcraft, and many gamers like this approach. For him, it was a wrong turn. The developer has been aware of this for some time, but the release of World of Warcraft Classic has strengthened this belief.

"It's not so much a problem with the game as it is really a disconnect between what the modern game is and what the game used to be," said the developer.

Chris Kaleiki has worked on PvP content in World of Warcraft, class projects (e.g. Monk) and locations (Ashran). In this game, you can find two characters and an item that refers to this developer by their names - it's great proof that his work was important and appreciated by the company.