Surprise! Activision Blizzard has suddenly dropped remasters of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, as well as Warcraft II. Not only that, but Warcraft III: Reforged been given a 2.0 update, fixing several issues with the game that hopefully will make it more presentable to classic Blizzard RTS fans. All of these are available today, right now!
Announced via the November 13 Warcraft 30th anniversary direct, the reveal is part of Warcraft’s 30th anniversary celebrations, which play a big part of the Warcraft-side of Blizzard’s content this year. Before this, some classic Warcraft cosmetics popped up in the modern version of World of Warcraft via a mid-patch celebration event, as well as various prizes and events based on the history of World of Warcraft itself.
The new remasters of Warcraft I and Warcraft II have new hand-drawn visuals, and players can swap between new and old graphics in real time. Warcraft 1 and right click move and a faster game speed, while both games have various UI and UX improvements. You’ll also be happy to hear that Warcraft 2 has functioning multiplayer and playable classic maps.
There’s a lot riding on these remasters, largely due to the original quality of Warcraft III: Reforged. That game had a lot of problems on launch, including bugs, matchmaking issues, visual problems with its overall refreshed aesthetic, and a controversial clause stating any custom maps made in the game were Blizzard’s to own forever, without license. You must understand, DOTA started off as a custom map for Warcraft 3, so this is the company making sure they don’t accidentally spawn a massive new game they don’t own. Still gross!
If these revamps come out and are safe from many of these issues, it’ll mark a flash of good news for both Blizzard and the retro Blizzard RTS crowd, something both could always do with. These games were fundamental to the PC gaming space in their time y’know, so them getting some high-quality modern love can only be a good thing. We’ll have to see what they’re like!
Are you gonna download these remasters? Let us know below!