What just happened? It looks like Blizzard's zeal for remastering its classic games may have led to an early orc assault. Ahead of next week's Warcraft 30th anniversary Direct event, some leaked files are pointing to a remastered version of the 1995 RTS Warcraft II being in the works.
The leak was first spotted by the folks at WoWhead, who noticed a new "Warcraft II: Remastered Internal Alpha" entry pop up on Blizzard's servers. Along with the name came a fresh logo and a piece of key art showing off the naval warfare that was a big focus of the sequel's gameplay.
Stiven, a frequent leaker of Blizzard-related info, also managed to grab the files and share them on X, setting off a flurry of hype. The leaked images depict Anduin Lothar commanding ships against an orc force, their armor straight out of Warcraft 2's classic look – spikes, tusks, and all. He also shared multiple logos with that unmistakable modern Blizzard flair.
Warcraft II Remastered !!! :D pic.twitter.com/txO5VyL3nS
– Stiven (@Stiven_SRB) November 5, 2024
However, alongside all that hype are concerns too. After the botched handling of Warcraft 3: Reforged in 2020, many are understandably wary about trusting Blizzard with another remaster.
Reforged infamously launched missing features from the original game and made the older version unplayable online, angering a huge swath of the fanbase. While some post-launch updates helped, the remaster never fully addressed all the negative feedback. Many players on Reddit are calling for Blizzard to fix those bugs before releasing new remasters.
However, there are glimmers of hope that Blizzard may have learned from Reforged's failings. The developers may have a true redemption arc planned to overhaul Reforged into the remaster it deserved to be.
If that winds up being the case, perhaps unveiling a cleaned-up Warcraft 3 alongside a properly reverent Warcraft 2 remaster would go a long way towards regaining trust.
Of course, all this is just speculation at this point, and Blizzard is yet to confirm anything. But the leak has received some backup from another credible Warcraft source, Marlamin.
I think Blizzard forgot that they have the ability to encrypt catalog entries for unannounced games, whoopsies.
– Marlamin (@Marlamin) November 5, 2024
Whatever the case, RTS fans will be watching next week's anniversary event closely.
Leaked files signal possible Warcraft II remaster reveal at 30th anniversary event
