Bill Petras, an employee at Blizzard Entertainment for two decades, who worked as an art director for World of Warcraft and Overwatch, passed away on April 4th. This news was brought to light by Harley D. Huggins II, a former Blizzard employee and long time friend of his on his LinkedIn page. At the moment, there is no known information about the cause of his death.

Quote From Harley D. Huggins II

I’m writing to share some heartbreaking news. Bill Petras, a game development legend has unexpectedly passed away. Billy was an amazingly gifted artist who worked at Blizzard Entertainment for almost two decades. He was immensely proud of the work he did there, most notably 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 regular, long, rambling conversations about life, game dev, games, art, comic books, toys, monster movies and Conan. He will be deeply missed by me and all who knew him.

The family is planning a Celebration of Life at a later date

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” - Thomas Campbell

“I am Conan, and I am not afraid of death.” - Conan the Barbarian

I love you, brother. Rest in peace.

Art design has always been one of the most iconic parts of Blizzard games since the very beginning, meaning that this leaves a pretty big hole in both the hearts of players and designers of those games, and the future of how their art will evolve over time. Whether or not Petras's successor will be able to hold up to his legacy remains to be seen, but he will always be missed in the hearts of Blizzard fans.

Rest in piece, Bill Petras.