Blizzard pulled off a rare surprise today by shadow-launching a remaster of the original Warcraft and its sequel to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary. These updates to the hit RTS game are available now and seek to blend retro goodness with modern sensibilities.
The remasters feature “brand new hand-drawn visuals that capture each game’s original art style.” Players can switch between the original graphics and the remastered version in real time. From the trailer, the game looks pure. The simple animations match the atmosphere of the two games very well.
The original Warcraft made significant quality of life changes to make the game more appealing to modern audiences. This update includes 16:9 resolution support and modern control options. For example, players can now right-click to move units instead of relying on hotkeys.
Both remasters receive “various UI and UX improvements, including increased tooltips, health bars, mission selection screens, and unit selection.” The final game is a nice improvement, as the original game had strict limits on the number of units that could be selected at once.
Warcraft 2 will also be available for multiplayer sessions. “All legacy custom maps remain fully compatible and playable,” franchise manager Brad Chan said during today’s 30th anniversary livestream. These remasters are available now. Warcraft 1 is $10 and Warcraft 2 is $15.
Today’s 30th Anniversary stream dropped all kinds of big things besides the remaster. Warcraft 3: Reforged received a major update today that fixes a number of long-standing issues. Blizzard also announced that its affiliated mobile title Warcraft Arclight Rumble will be available on PC starting December 10th, albeit in beta.
Developers are rebooting WoW: Classic with “a whole new fresh realm.” WoW: Classic 20th Anniversary Edition launches on November 21st and includes PvE and PvP servers in addition to Hardcore Realms.
WOW Classic also adds new (and old) extensions. Mists of Pandora Classic will be available next year. Check out the trailer above for proof.
