GamesMMOWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft’s lead storyteller quietly left Blizzard last fall: ‘I’ve felt the itch to stretch my creativity in new directions’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesMMOWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft’s lead storyteller quietly left Blizzard last fall: ‘I’ve felt the itch to stretch my creativity in new directions’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
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A Shadowlands-era publicity photo of Danuser.(Image credit: Heather Newman)
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—and Blizzard also confirmed the news when reached for comment.
Fans speculated that Danuser may have left because of a clash with famed Blizzard storyteller Chris Metzen, whorecently returnedto 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.”
The lead image for the Sylvanas-Nathanos Blightcaller short story “Dark Mirror."(Image credit: Blizzard)
His newest plans aren’t settled.
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“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 pieces of her tale, including her love affair with Nathanos Blightcaller. That story, and particularly its thread throughout the unpopular Shadowlands expansion, was sometimes controversial with fans.
“There had been hints of a relationship between them, but I was the one to make it canon via my ‘Dark Mirror’ short story,” he said. “And I wrote a number of their in-game scenes, such as their banter on the dais during the demon attack at Vol’jin’s funeral and many moments between them in Battle for Azeroth.
But the work he loves most is in the current expansion.
“I’m most proud of my work on Dragonflight, from creating the original pitch for the expansion’s story, cultures, and history to helping plan its narrative beats across the patches alongside my fantastic creative partners,” he said. “And of course: ‘Guards! Arrest this handsome wizard!'”
Danuser says he’ll miss the narrative team he built at Blizzard, and the “many friends” he still has there. Find an earlier interview I did with Danuser about the Dragonflight storylinehere.
This article was updated after publishing with a comment from Blizzard.
TOPICSBlizzard EntertainmentActivision Blizzard
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