Warcraft 3 : Reforged - Overview, Release Date, Trailer

Warcraft 3: Reforged is the classic RTS built for 4K.

Last we heard, Warcraft 3: Reforged was set to release sometime in 2019. Now that the year's almost over, it sounds like the game might be slipping into 2020. Though, you can still play it in the form of a beta. Read on below for details on that.



Warcraft 3's multiplayer beta has officially kicked off, and folks who pre-purchase the $40 Spoils of War Edition are receiving the first invites. The beta is currently running 1v1 and 2v2 matchmaking for the orc and human races, with the undead, night elf races, and more game modes, coming "in the weeks ahead." As of the week of November 4, the beta is also rolling out for folks who attended BlizzCon 2019 in-person or watched it via Virtual Ticket.

For those who aren't comfortable pre-purchasing the fancy edition, Blizzard said subsequent rounds of beta invites will eventually go out to those who have purchased the standard edition. There might even be a more open beta that doesn't require pre-purchasing anything, but we'll see.

Blizzard says that Reforged is going to be an extremely faithful remaster of Warcraft 3. To that end, those playing on Reforged can actually still play multiplayer against those using the original version of the game, and Blizzard has said that even mods and maps made in Warcraft 3 should work in Reforged without an issue.

 The biggest change, however, will be all new graphics and animation with 4K support. Even the UI is getting a complete overhaul. Every unit, map, and texture is being completely remodeled along with new cutscenes that play out between missions. One cool new feature is that hero units, like death knights and demon hunters, will have different variations for male and female—giving players more choice over who commands their armies.

All of this will be optional, and players can toggle these settings individually if they prefer looking at the original graphics for Warcraft 3. What won’t be changing (that much) is the way Reforged plays. Each faction will still have the same unique designs and features, and you’ll still have to micromanage armies and assign workers to gather resources back in your main base.