Warcraft 1 and 2 Remastered form a new Warcraft Battle Chest, available today

Blizzard’s classic RTS titles Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness are both getting the ‘remastered’ treatment to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary, and they’ll be available separately or together today alongside Warcraft 3: Reforged in a new Warcraft Battle Chest.

The news comes as part of Blizzard’s Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, where the developer kicked off by paying tribute to the games that started the franchise and diving into what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in Warcraft 1 and 2 Remastered. While players have the option to play each game with their original visuals (something that can be toggled on and off in real time), the remastered versions also include new, hand-drawn visuals that help make each game’s units sharper and more defined. while they are still active. while retaining their classic appearance.

Warcraft 1’s controls have been updated to support modern RTS elements such as right-clicking to move, box unit selection, and increased game speed. Both games have also received several UI and UX tweaks such as unit health bars, tooltips, increased unit selection, and a mission selector. Warcraft 2 still supports multiplayer and all older custom maps will be fully compatible with this new version of the game.

Warcraft 3: Reforged, the maligned remaster that released in 2020 to negative reviews and reportedly suffered from budget cuts and shaky development, is also getting a major 2.0 update today. The update improves the game’s environments and lighting and revamps the user interface. It also adds hotkey adjustments and a revamped ladder system. Those who prefer to play Warcraft 3 with the original, unremastered visuals will find that the update also adds high-rez versions for all classic Warcraft 3 models, with players having the ability to mix and match which assets, original or HD, they would like to use.

Gamers who grew up playing classic Blizzard titles may remember seeing the large Warcraft and Warcraft 3 Battle Chests on store shelves, which collect multiple games or expansions all together in one package. For the first time in a long time, a new Battle Chest is now available, one that contains the remastered versions of all three Warcraft RTS titles. The Battle Chest costs $40, while the standalone versions of Warcraft: Remastered and Warcraft 2: Remastered cost $10 and $15 respectively.

For those who don’t need all the new bells and whistles from the remasters, the original versions of Warcraft 1 and 2 are available together on GOG for $15.