World of Warcraft's lead storyteller quietly left Blizzard last fall: 'I've felt the itch to stretch my creativity in new directions'

The World of Warcraft community discovered almost by accident recently that the lead creator of the game's stories has quietly left Blizzard.

Warcraft narrative director Steve Danuser's departure wasn't announced, but rather discovered by fans who noticed an update to his LinkedIn page that sets the end of his Blizzard employment to last November, right around the time of the annual BlizzCon convention in Anaheim.

Danuser confirmed his exit to PC Gamer, telling me that he had «nothing particularly noteworthy» to say about his departure, although he did offer two reasons. Blizzard representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fans speculated that Danuser may have left because of a clash with famed Blizzard storyteller Chris Metzen, who recently returned to the company as executive creative director for the Warcraft universe. In reality, Danuser says he was ready for something new, and that he had geographical motivations. Blizzard recently enforced a return to office policy, and Danuser's LinkedIn page puts him near Minneapolis-St. Paul, a long way from Irvine.

«Wanting to continue working remotely was a factor, as I'm a big believer in the effectiveness of online team collaboration,» he told me. «But eight years is a long time to work on a single game, and while helping to architect WoW's story direction for the next several years was challenging and rewarding, more and more lately I've felt the itch to stretch my creativity in new directions.»

His newest plans aren't settled.

«I was fortunate enough to be able to relax and recharge over the holiday season,» Danuser said. «As for what's next, I am not announcing anything yet, but I look forward to exciting things in 2024.»

Danuser had his hand in much of Warcraft's storyline while he was at the company. Some of the content he personally wrote includes:

Danuser's biggest impact on WoW may have been the story of doomed high-elf-turned-undead-queen Sylvanas Windrunner. He authored significant