The original Warcraft games may soon be updated and re-released for modern platforms, according to comments from World of Warcraft production director J. Allen Brack. Mr. Brack’s remarks, delivered this weekend at BlizzCon 2013, reveal that a small team at Blizzard is currently responsible for a “side project” to bring 1994’s Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, 1995’s Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and 2002’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos to modern PCs.
So, we actually have a guy on our team — actually several guys on our team — who are actually working on a side project to do something like that in some form or fashion. We’re fans of Warcraft 1, Warcraft 2, Warcraft 3, and we’d love to replay those games for sure.
All three games saw original releases on both Microsoft and Apple platforms, with Warcraft II also finding its way to Linux, the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Amiga. These were just preliminary comments from Blizzard, so it’s not clear if the company plans to simply repackage the original game assets in modern emulators – similar to the strategy used by GOG.com – or if more ambitious plans for an “HD” remake are in the works, along the lines of the Age of Empires II HD.
The fantasy-based Warcraft franchise is one of the most popular and successful in gaming history. The original strategy games received high scores from gamers and reviewers alike, and the MMORPG World of Warcraft remains the most popular title in its category nearly 9 years after its original release.