The art director for Overwatch and World of Warcraft, Bill Petras, has passed away

Bill Petras, who served as the art director for the notable titles Overwatch and World of Warcraft, has passed away.

Harley D. Huggins II, a former director of cinematic projects at Blizzard, announced the sad news on LinkedIn, expressing deep admiration for Petras.

"Bill Petras, a game development icon, has unexpectedly left us. He was an extraordinarily talented artist who committed nearly two decades to Blizzard Entertainment," Huggins shared.

"Bill took great pride in his contributions, particularly as the Art Director for World of Warcraft and Overwatch."

Huggins reminisced about their shared history, starting at Blizzard together and maintaining a close friendship for 28 years. "I'll miss our lengthy talks about life, game development, games, art, comics, toys, monster films, and Conan," he stated.

Petras is remembered fondly by all who knew him.

Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he worked on PC games like BloodNet and Star Crusader.

In 1997, Petras joined Blizzard, contributing to the acclaimed 1998 title StarCraft and its Brood War expansion as an artist. His work also graced the game's box and manuals.

Later, he contributed to the RTS game WarCraft III and embarked on shaping the visual essence of World of Warcraft, a highly influential role he held at its 2004 launch.

After leaving Blizzard in 2005, Petras co-founded Red 5 Studios, known for the MMO Firefall.

He rejoined Blizzard in 2010, taking on the Art Director role for Overwatch, which originated from the cancelled MMO project, Titan, remaining with the company until 2021.