Fans have been voicing their distaste about Warcraft 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, leading Warcraft 3: Reforged to plummet to 0.5 on Metacritic via 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.
When Warcraft 3: Reforged was 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 the removal of many online features, jarring gameplay, and connectivity issues fans 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.
This morning, players are reporting that Warcraft 3: Reforged refund 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 that Warcraft 3: Reforged was 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 to claim copyright over all Warcraft 3 custom 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: Reforged has 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. Classic Warcraft 3 has effectively been killed with Reforged's global launch last week.
In the end, Blizzard and the community can say Warcraft 3: Reforged has been everything but a resounding success. Adding to the anti-climatic ending for N'Zoth in Battle For Azeroth, this flop means the Warcraft series doesn't look good heading into the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands release later this year.
Warcraft 3: Reforged is out now on PC.
Source: Blizzard