As the 30th-anniversary celebrations of the Warcraft franchise approach, it looks like one of the surprises Blizzard has been teasing will be a remaster announcement. Leaks from two sources have surfaced with the name Warcraft II: Remastered, meaning that the classic real-time strategy game from 1995 may be the studio"s latest project.
Blizztracker, the service that keeps track of Blizzard"s game updates and servers, suddenly received an entry with the name "Warcraft II: Remastered Internal Alpha" earlier today. At the same time, Blizzard dataminer Stiven also managed to wrangle new images from the company"s servers of this upcoming remaster.
Warcraft II Remastered !!! :D pic.twitter.com/txO5VyL3nS
— Stiven (@Stiven_SRB) November 5, 2024
Aside from the logo, the leaked key art shows off a naval theme, which is in line with the classic game"s setting. Considering the leaked entry has the tag "Internal Alpha," though, we may not get a 2024 release even if Blizzard announces the project next week.
Here"s a quick description of the classic RTS straight from the developer:
The kingdom of Stormwind lies in ruins. The king has fallen, and the survivors of the orcish onslaught flee across the ocean. The pursuing Horde, eager to plunge the world into chaos, sails its fleet to meet the defenders of Azeroth in battle. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance and the great tacticians of the Horde and the Alliance clash, only one thing is certain: Winning this war will demand unprecedented cunning, courage, and nerves of steel.
Blizzard already sells the Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition in its store and the DRM-free platform GOG. However, this is still the 1999-released collection that includes Tides of Darkness base game and Beyond the Dark Portal expansion, without many modern improvements. We will have to wait and see how Blizzard approaches this remaster and if fan reactions will be positive, considering the Warcraft III: Reforged launch debacle.
If Blizzard is preparing to announce the project, it will probably happen at the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct presentation. The show kicks off on November 13, and the company is teasing multiple surprises. Find more details here.