Fans have been voicing their distaste aboutWarcraft 3: Reforged. Marketed by Blizzard as a complete remaster and overhaul of the original game, the final product was anything but satisfactory. Upon launch, players discovered many issues and downgrades from the old client, leadingWarcraft 3: Reforgedto plummet to 0.5 on Metacriticvia a wave of angry customers. After nearly a week of silence, it seems Blizzard is finally caving into the demands for refunds from the fan base.
WhenWarcraft 3: Reforgedwas released on January 28th, veteran players and interested newcomers were shocked to find the real-time strategy game was strictly inferior to its 2002 version. With theremoval of many online features, jarring gameplay, and connectivity issuesfans began looking for ways to refund the game amidst the negative reviews. Blizzard responded in kind by denying all requests and even banning forums users who made posts about how to get a refund, which didn’t go unnoticed by the community. But as of today, refunds are finally going through en masse.
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This morning, players are reporting thatWarcraft 3: Reforgedrefund requests are being instantly granted via Blizzard support. Previously, even citing consumer laws in other countries like Australia didn’t work because of customer service responses such as “extended play time” and “all purchases are final.” In stark contrast to the detailed steps users had to take last week with only moderate success, refunds will now be processed automatically by noting technical issues, consumer rights, or other complaints along the lines thatWarcraft 3: Reforgedwas falsely advertised.
The change in Blizzard policy, however, is only in response to extreme backlash faced across the entire internet. As little more than a glorified re-skin, fans everywhere immediately condemned the game, urging others in the community to not buy the remaster for not being what was promised or shown a year and a half ago. For one reason or another, the official website still shows BlizzCon 2018’s trailer for one mission, The Culling, with dynamic cutscenes that aren’t anywhere in the final release. Additionally, Blizzard’s EULA was recently updated toclaim copyright over allWarcraft 3custom maps, crippling a huge part of the community. Even though fans are finally getting what they want with refunds, the damage has already been done.
On that note,Warcraft 3: Reforgedhas also managed to tarnish the original’s iconic legacy. To unify players regardless of the original or remastered versions, Blizzard forced everyone to download an update that converts them to the new client. There are no more clans, no more profiles, no more tournaments, and no more ladders for multiplayer. ClassicWarcraft 3has effectively been killed withReforged’sglobal launch last week.
In the end, Blizzard and the community can sayWarcraft 3: Reforgedhas been everything but a resounding success. Adding to theanti-climatic ending for N’Zoth inBattle For Azeroth, this flop means theWarcraftseries doesn’t look good heading into theWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlandsrelease later this year.
