Almost exactly eight years since Blizzard said it wasn't planning to remaster Warcraft 1 and 2 because they “aren't as fun anymore,” the studio has announced it's doing just that, and both upgrades are available today as part of Warcraft's 30th anniversary celebrations. Warcraft.
The original Warcraft helped catapult Blizzard into the big leagues when it launched in 1994, and Warcraft 2 quickly emerged to satiate its growing fan base the following year. And the studio's recently announced remasters promise a variety of improvements to the games' classic real-time strategy action, starting with new hand-drawn visuals, said to capture the art style of the originals, that can be activated and deactivate in real time. .
Looking at Warcraft 1 specifically, Blizzard has added “modern controls,” including right-click movement, bounding box selection, and faster gameplay speed. This is in addition to UI and UX improvements, including tooltips, health bars, mission selection screens, and increased unit selection, which have been implemented in both titles. Additionally, Warcraft 2 Remastered retains the original multiplayer mode and all legacy custom maps are fully compatible and playable in the new version.
Warcraft 1 Remastered and Warcraft 2 Remastered are available on PC through Battle.net right now (no word on whether they'll eventually appear on other stores), retailing for $9.99 and $14.99 respectively. Additionally, there's a Battle Chest bundle, priced at $39.99, that includes the new remasters and Blizzard's much-maligned Warcraft 3: Reforged.
Despite the latter's terrible launch reception, Blizzard has continued to improve the title since its arrival in 2020, and today brings a new 2.0 update for all players. This includes revamped environments and lighting, a revamped UI, upgraded HD versions of all classic Warcraft assets, plus a variety of quality of life improvements (in-game hockey customization and revamped ladder were mentioned) and “much, much more.”