Blizzard apologizes for the condition of Warcraft 3: Reforged, promises action

Warcraft 3: Reforged, a remake of the classic real-time strategy game, launched into controversy last week. Consumers say that the title doesn’t live up to expectations Blizzard set when the game was announced in 2018. Making matters worse, the update functionally alters how the original game works online. Now Blizzard has apologized, and laid out its plans for the future.

We want to say we’re sorry to those of you who didn’t have the experience you wanted,” Blizzard said on its forums, “and we’d like to share our plans for what’s coming next.”

Numerous bug fixes are on the way this week in a single large patch, Blizzard said. Issues to be dealt with immediately are inadvertent changes to the coloration and shading of the original game, portrait animations, audio issues, and user interface bugs. Online leaderboards and clans, on the other hand, will take more time.

“We’ll share release plans as work progresses in the coming weeks,” Blizzard said, “please be assured that the team is hard at work on standing these features up.”

Perhaps the most obvious complaint among fans, however, is the issue of cutscenes that simply don’t look much like what was shown when the game was first announced. Blizzard says it was a creative decision, one intended not to compromise the classic look of the game.

“We did not want the in-game cutscenes to steer too far from the original game,” Blizzard said. “We went a little deeper into the thought process behind that at the show, but the main takeaway is that the campaigns tell one of the classic stories in Warcraft history, and we want to preserve the true spirit of Warcraft III and allow players to relive these unforgettable moments as they were (albeit rebuilt with new animations and the higher fidelity art).”

Blizzard is currently offering full refunds to those dissatisfied with their purchase.