In the last weeks Blizzard Entertainment she found herself again on everyone's lips but with very unflattering words. The software house, creator of highly successful games such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft e Overwatch, returns to talk about himself for his latest "effort", Warcraft 3: Reforged.
The long-awaited remake of the historian RTS by Blizzard has shaken the community of the game that has poured out its disappointment regarding the final result and on some choices made by the Californian studio. But what exactly happened? Why did Warcraft 3 Reforged indignant fans?
Let's make a brief recap.
Blizzard Warcraft 3: Reforged
Warcraft 3: Reforged was announced at BlizzCon, Blizzard's annual conference, 2018. It is a true remake of the third installment of the successful series of Warcraft which then gave rise to the MMORPG World of Warcraft. The game features totally revamped graphics compared to the 2002 version with a total of 60 missions available e new social functions and matchmaking. The Reforged version is obviously equipped with the two expansions Reign of Chaos e The Frozen Throne.
On paper, therefore, it seems to be a well-made game and a winning idea capable of touching the spirit of long-time players, bringing back a video game that has made the history of RTS, but also of a younger audience, perhaps approaching it. to the world of Azeroth alone with World of Warcraft and eager to discover more of this world's fascinating lore.
These good intentions, however, have already faded from the very first days of the official launch of the game, which took place on January 29th. What happened?
The complaints of the fans: the downgrade ...
Gamers who bought Warcraft 3: Reforged joined in a unanimous chorus of disapproval and dissent towards the remake for two main reasons: Downgrade and question about the ownership of custom maps.
That of the downgrade it is a technique that we have been seeing too often in recent years. It is, in short, a strong inequality between the product shown in the presentation trailers and the final result. During the Blizzcon, an exciting cinematic film was shown to the public with Uther, Arthas and the other protagonists of the game.
The graphical improvement over the original title was nothing short of exceptional and made fans of the series agonize with impatience. Too bad that, in the finished game, this sequence has been replaced by a similar but much inferior scene in terms of graphic quality and dubbing.
… And the ownership of custom content
But the reason that unleashed the berserker that lay in the hearts of fans was certainly there Blizzard's policy on custom maps.
One of the most appreciated features of Warcraft III was in fact that of allowing users to create new maps with custom rules to enrich the gameplay, show users their creations online and constantly reinvent the game. In the early 2000s, the potential of the World creator led to the emergence of new maps and historical game modes including, perhaps the most famous, the map Defense of The Ancient. This, along with the minds that created it, was later bought by Valve Corporation who turned it into the new IP Dota leading to the birth of the revolutionary genre of MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena).
Much to the public's disappointment, Blizzard announced that any content created through the Warcraft 3 Reforged Map Editor will automatically be considered the property of the company. Furthermore, according to the policy, “a Custom Game cannot be sold, licensed or rented anywhere outside of Blizzard”. It was a choice that, although legitimate, did not appeal to the majority of users who unleashed negative comments and reviews making the game reach one of the lowest ratings ever recorded on metacritic (now reached 0.5).
Warcraft 3: Reforged Collectors Edition
399,00 EUR
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Blizzard's answer
It goes without saying that, already after the first hours of the revolt of the Internet users, Blizzard intervened ... in the worst way. The first reaction of the company was in fact that to ban from their official forum all those users who were helping other players to ask for a full refund of the game (€ 29,99 for the standard edition and € 39,99 for the Spoils of War edition). This choice did nothing but fuel an already lively dissent against Blizzard which, however, soon retraced its steps.
After a few days, in fact, the software house published on the page dedicated to the assistance of the official website of Battle.net, for an here which allows users to request an immediate and full refund. Along with the form, Blizzard has also published a long message to users regarding the situation which reads:
“We have been following the discussions over the past couple of days and would like to thank you for your feedback and support. First of all, we want to say that we are really sorry with all those users who have not received the desired experience and we would like to share our plans for the future. […] The team is thrilled that Warcraft III: Reforged is finally with us and we are very keen to support the game for a long time to come. The next patches and updates that we will analyze below are just the beginning of our projects. This game is an integral part of Blizzard's DNA and we can't wait to show our passion to the Warcraft III Reforged community. [...]
Regarding what we showed last year at BlizzCon, we didn't want the in-game scenes to be too far removed from the original game. We have focused on this thinking compared to what was shown at Blizzcon but the main point is that the main campaigns tell the classic stories of the world of Warcraft and we want to preserve the true spirit of Warcraft III and allow players to relive those stories as they were ( even if you improve graphically and with new animations). […] We know this update does not answer all the questions but we intend to further develop and support this game. We appreciate your feedback and will continue to update the Warcraft III community on our work. "
The future of Warcraft 3 Reforged
The case of Warcraft 3 Reforged is still far from being solved but Blizzard is, finally, understanding the point of view of the users and has managed, at least for the moment, to stem the fury of gamers. The choices made by Blizzard have left a wound in the trust of the players and to regain it, the software house will have to work hard and repair the defects of the game as soon as possible.
TagsBlizzard Entertainment Blizzcon dota downgrade Valve Corporation warcraft III Reforged wow Warcraft 3 Reforged: What Happened? The point of the situation
