Blizzard Entertainment fans looking to buy a classic game are having a bit of trouble. It appears that players can’t buy Warcraft 3 via Blizzard Entertainment’s website any longer.
Blizzcon 2018 wrapped up less than two weeks ago. Blizzard Entertainment’s homegrown gaming convention was a heck of a ride with the announcement of a new Overwatch hero voiced by Jennifer Hale and the unkind reception for Diablo Immortal. One of the happier announcements was Warcraft 3: Reforged, a remaster of one of the company’s most beloved titles. Fans seemed elated at the opportunity to play a fresh take on a well-liked real-time strategy.
A portion of the appeal for the Reforged announcement is that owners will also get a copy of the classic version. Understandably, veterans of the game (and some of the more impatient newbies) were keen on buying the original rather than wait for the release of the remaster. Unfortunately, a support page has popped up indicating that they can’t buy Warcraft 3 any longer.
The support page details why customers can’t buy Warcraft 3. The solution to the problem states two key facts. First, these products are currently only available as part of the pre-purchase for Warcraft 3: Reforged. Secondly, access to these games will be made available at a later date. There is currently no ETA for the availability of these classic titles.
Warcraft 3 was an excellent real-time strategy game. The game’s map editor was more powerful than the company’s previous RTS Starcraft which allowed for some pretty neat custom games to be made. The most notable of these custom games was Defense of the Ancients, better known today by its acronym Dota. The custom game mode eventually evolved into the commercial game Dota 2.
Users on the /r/Games subreddit speculate that Blizzard Entertainment may be doing something similar to their remastered version of Starcraft — namely, making the original games available for free at some point in the future.
For the moment, gamers looking for a blast from the past can’t buy Warcraft 3 or its Frozen Throne expansion. It’s an awful shame as they were pretty great games.
