Blizzard celebrates 30 years of Warcraft with remastered versions of the original RTS games and significant updates to Warcraft 3: Reforged. World of Warcraft continues to thrive with its upcoming expansion, The War Within, and exciting plans for WoW Classic. Hearthstone marks a decade of success with new expansions, while Warcraft Rumble celebrates its first anniversary with a PC beta announcement. This showcase evokes the spirit of past BlizzCon events, highlighting the franchise’s enduring legacy and future developments.
Celebrating 30 Years of Warcraft: The Evolution of RTS Games
The Warcraft universe has significantly expanded since its inception, but it all began in 1994 with real-time strategy (RTS) games that set the groundwork for its success. To mark this 30-year milestone, Blizzard made a splash by unexpectedly releasing remastered editions of Warcraft 1: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness. This surprise launch, known as a shadow drop, pays homage to the series’ legacy.
Additionally, players’ beloved Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos also received an upgrade. Originally remastered in 2020 as Warcraft 3: Reforged, which included the expansion The Frozen Throne, the title faced criticism for not meeting player expectations. However, Blizzard has now unveiled version 2.0 of the game, incorporating numerous enhancements. Early feedback on social media indicates a positive response, though it may take time to fully assess the quality of this latest update.
World of Warcraft: New Features and Classic Returns
When discussing Warcraft, World of Warcraft (WoW) is often the first title that comes to mind. Launched in 2004, WoW has maintained its position as a leader in the MMO genre for nearly two decades. With its eleventh expansion, The War Within, set for release in 2024, and the celebration of its 20th anniversary this year, Blizzard shows no signs of slowing down. The company shared an exciting roadmap for the game, hinting at continuous development and player engagement.
The popular battle royale mode, Plunderstorm, is back in the spotlight, alongside anticipated major updates for The War Within, which will see version 11.1 rolled out before spring and version 11.2 in early summer. Following this, players can look forward to a detailed unveiling of the Midnight expansion, the next chapter in the Soul-World saga that promises to introduce housing—an eagerly awaited feature that was originally intended for the vanilla version of the game back in 2004.
Anniversaries are a perfect time for reflection and a glimpse into the future. Blizzard took this opportunity to share exciting plans for World of Warcraft: Classic, including a new phase in the discovery season. Most notably, the reset of WoW Classic Vanilla and the Classic version of Mists of Pandaria (the fourth WoW expansion) are set to draw players’ attention, with launches planned for fall 2024 and spring 2025, respectively.
Mobile Gaming Milestones: Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, now celebrating a decade of success, marks this milestone with an eagerly awaited initiative from Blizzard. The studio introduced the mini-set Heroes of Starcraft, which enhances the existing set The Great Dark Beyond and features iconic characters from the Starcraft universe, such as Zerg, Protoss, and Terran, starting in January 2025. This tenth anniversary also allows Blizzard to unveil three upcoming expansions for the year of the raptor, scheduled between spring 2025 and spring 2026, along with updates for other game modes like Battlegrounds and Arena.
Warcraft Rumble, the newest addition to the franchise, is also celebrating its first anniversary. Released last year, it has captured the attention of both players and Blizzard, leading to the announcement of a beta version for PC set to launch by the end of the year. This update will introduce dual-faction warlords, allowing players to experience characters like Sylvanas from the Horde and Anu’barak as a beast Undead.
This 45-minute showcase, while not explicitly named, evokes the excitement of recent BlizzCon events, which will celebrate their 20th anniversary next year if not canceled.