Now that Microsoft’s acquisition of Blizzard has been finalized, we’re starting to see the positive effects. During their 30th Anniversary Celebration that was broadcast online today, Blizzard announced the Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest. All three of the classic Warcraft strategy games have been remastered and are available now in the Blizzard Store.

For those that remember what the Warcraft IP used to be like before World of Warcraft became one of the biggest games in the world, Warcraft started as a real-time strategy series, and was instrumental in birthing the RTS genre in the mid-1990s. From 1994-2002, Blizzard released three Warcraft strategy games:

  • Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (1994)
  • Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)
  • Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (1996) (expansion)
  • Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
  • Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003) (expansion)

All three games were very influential, but Warcraft III in particular made the deepest mark, and is credited with birthing the tower-defense and DOTA genres.

Warcraft III was originally remastered in 2020, but had a lot of issues at launch that were never fixed under Activision and Bobby Kotick. Now that Microsoft and Phil Spencer are in charge, it looks like Warcraft III: Reforged is finally becoming the game we’ve wanted it to be with a whole host of fixes included in this new collection.

Meanwhile, Warcraft and Warcraft II will retain their classic art style and gameplay, but with modern quality of life improvements.

The Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest is available now for PC in the Blizzard Store. Check out the announcement trailer below:

THE DRUMS OF WAR ECHO THROUGH TIME

Celebrate 30 years of Warcraft® history and travel back to the beginning with remastered versions of Warcraft® I and II and a newly updated Warcraft® III Reforged.This comprehensive collection includes the following games:

  • Warcraft® I: Remastered¹
  • Warcraft® II: Remastered²
  • Warcraft® III: Reforged (including Spoils of War Edition bonuses)
  • Warcraft®: Orcs & Humans³
  • Warcraft® II: Battle.net® Edition⁴

Warcraft® I: Remastered

Relive the original Warcraft® story created in 1994 with remastered assets and updated quality of life features for modern day gaming.

Warcraft® II: Remastered

Navigate your way through the Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark portal with remastered assets and updated quality of life features for modern day gaming.

Warcraft® III: Reforged 2.0

Warcraft®III Reforged has received a 2.0 patch which includes updated Classic HD assets and improved Reforged environment visuals. Customize your army to play with the visuals you prefer.  Includes all of the benefits of the Spoils of War Edition.

Original Warcraft Titles

In addition to the Remasters, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition are also included in the Battle Chest.

[Battle.net]