Warcraft 3: Reforged gets 2.0 update with a bunch of fixes, Warcraft 1 & 2 remasters announced

Blizzard Entertainment is trying to fix one of its biggest mistakes. On Wednesday, during the game maker’s Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, Blizzard announced a 2.0 update to Warcraft 3: Reforged, the 2020 remaster of real-time strategy game Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne expansion.

But that’s not all. Blizzard also officially confirmed remasters of the original Warcraft and Warcraft 2, both of which are available now.

“When something is broken, you fix it. When something is wrong, you make it right. And if things aren’t good enough, you make them better,” said Brad Chan, senior manager for the Warcraft RTS team, in a video announcing the updates to classic Warcraft real-time strategy games. Chan said that Warcraft 3: Reforged’s 2.0 update overhauls the game’s environments and lighting, revamps the user interface, and uprezzes all classic Warcraft 3 assets to HD. The 2.0 update also introduces new quality-of-life changes, such as in-game hotkey customization, a revamped ladder, and “much, much more,” Chan said.

Blizzard’s “fully remastered” versions of Warcraft and Warcraft 2 feature “brand-new, hand-drawn visuals that capture the original art style from each game, and you’ll be able to swap between the original graphics and the remastered versions in real time.” The original Warcraft is getting modern controls, with right-click move, bandbox select, and a faster game speed. Both games have been updated with UI and UX improvements.

The remastered versions of Warcraft, Warcraft 2, and Warcraft 3 are available individually and in a new Warcraft Battle Chest bundle — available now through Battle.net for $39.99.

Warcraft 3: Reforged was announced in 2018 as a “stunning reimagining of the revolutionary real-time strategy game that laid the foundation for Azeroth’s most epic stories.” But the product that was released in 2020 was received negatively by many Warcraft fans, forcing Blizzard to apologize for Reforged’s quality and offer refunds to customers.