During the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, Blizzard Entertainment revealed HD remasters for Warcraft 1 and 2, as well as a big Patch 2.0 update to Warcraft 3: Reforged. Plus, big updates to World of Warcraft, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The new Warcraft 1 and 2 remasters update the seminal mid 90s real-time strategy games with UI improvements, modern controls, and mission select. They also include one of my favorite features in remasters: switching between the crisp HD graphics with the original nostalgic pixels.
Warcraft 2 will still have full multiplayer functionality, and backwards compatible with all legacy custom maps.
Warcraft 3 already has a remaster, released in 2020. It… had a lot of problems and issues, and fans were not happy.
With Patch 2.0, Warcraft 3: Reforged overhauls the graphics, lighting and interface, and updates each asset for HD. Players can also mix and match individual asset art styles.
All three Warcraft remasters are available now via the Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest ($39.99) for PC. The Battle Chest also includes the original versions of Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2: Battle.net Edition.
The Warcraft series is most famous for the MMO spin-off, World of Warcraft, which turned 20 this year. WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition marks the perfect time to jump into (or back into) the world’s most famous MMORPG with the arrival of fresh servers that mimic the game state 20 years ago. The first raid dungeon, Molten Core, won’t even release until several weeks later.
In WoW Classic, players can choose between PvE, PvP, or Hardcore realms, and progress to level 60 alongside everyone else.
Meanwhile the non-20th Anniversary Edition of WoW Classic, which released back in 2019, will see the Mists of Pandaria expansion arrive in Spring 2025.
Modern WoW is still going strong as well, with The War Within expansion kicking off a new chapter, the Worldsoul Saga. The Anniversary Direct also teased adding player homes to WoW in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion.
For more on the Direct, including StarCraft coming to Hearthstone, see the official WoW Direct update. Oh, and tune into the end of the Direct for an awesome 20th Anniversary Orchestral Concert!
The Warcraft series is rated T for Teen.
