Obituary: Blizzard veteran and Overwatch art director Bill Petras has passed away
By Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch and World of Warcraft art director Bill Petras has sadly passed away.
The news was announced by former colleagues on social media, leading to a wave of condolences from coworkers, friends, and gamers.
“I’m reaching out to share some devastating news. Bill Petras, a legendary figure in game development, has unexpectedly died,” expressed former Blizzard cinematic project director, Harley D. Huggins II, on LinkedIn.
“Billy was a remarkably talented artist who dedicated almost twenty years at Blizzard Entertainment. He was incredibly proud of his contributions there, especially as the art director for World of Warcraft and Overwatch.
“Billy and I started at Blizzard the same week and were close friends for 28 years. I will miss our long, winding discussions about life, game development, games, art, comic books, toys, monster movies, and Conan. He will be deeply missed by me and everyone who knew him.”
Former Blizzard senior director of narrative and creative development, James Waugh, described Petras as a “big-hearted and genuine” individual who had a profound care for those around him.
“He was the kind of person who earned trust instantly, and you knew he genuinely cared. He aimed for creative excellence, yet never lost sight of the people striving to achieve it and felt valued in doing so,” he stated on LinkedIn. “This is profoundly tragic. The industry has lost one of its masters, and the world has lost a wonderful human being.”
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Petras spent the majority of his career at Blizzard. He contributed to franchises such as StarCraft and World of Warcraft during his initial tenure at the studio, which commenced in the 1990s and concluded in 2005 when he left to establish Red 5 Studios Inc.
He returned to the company in 2010 and was eventually invited to lead production on Overwatch as art director. He served as senior art director on Overwatch 2 before leaving the studio for the second time.
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News Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist with over ten years of experience in the gaming industry. His byline has appeared in prominent print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, Global Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events like GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has served on the judging panel for The Develop Awards multiple times and has been featured on BBC Radio 5 Live discussing breaking news.