Blizzard addresses fan complaints following controversial Warcraft 3: Reforged launch
Big bug fix patch due this week.
Last week, Blizzard dropped its Warcraft 3 remake, Reforged, into the laps of expectant fans, and the results, it's fair to say, weren't pretty. Broken online play, bugs, missing features, and a final product that some customers felt was wide of that originally promised resulted in an immediate backlash, and Blizzard - a company still struggling to right its reputation following last year's Blitzchung debacle - has now responded.
Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole highlighted many of Reforged's shortcomings in his write-up last week, if you're looking for a more thorough breakdown of the remake's strengths and weaknesses, but Blizzard primarily focussed its attention on bug fixes and missing features - including various online functionality - in its latest message to the community.
Leaderboards and clans are missing, not only for Reforged players, but those playing the original version of Warcraft 3, given that Blizzard has opted to merge both into a single client. And while it sidestepped the question of exactly why it had chosen to launch its new Warcraft 3 client without key online functionality, it did assure players that "These and other features will be included in a major patch for Reforged, which will also address the issue for players of the original game." More information on this update is due in the "coming weeks".
Blizzard has also promised that a separate patch will arrive later this week to address incorrect visuals in Classic Mode, alongside "many other known issues, such as fixing some portrait animations and audio bugs, implementing some UI fixes, and more."
Elsewhere, the developer addressed the issue of cut-scenes, which proved to be considerably less dynamic in the final version of Warcraft 3: Reforged compared to those shown at BlizzCon 2018. It argued that it ultimately wanted to "preserve the true spirit of Warcraft III and allow players to relive these unforgettable moments as they were", and so "did not want the in-game cutscenes to steer too far from the original game".
All in all, Blizzard's not-exactly-apologetic response probably leaves players with just as many concerns as they started with regarding the decisions made around Reforged's launch - and the developer openly acknowledged that, "We know this update doesn't address all questions". However, it did offer assurances that the game "is an integral part of the Blizzard DNA, with a team that loves Warcraft III, and we're looking forward to pouring our hearts into Reforged and the Warcraft III community for the long term."
Those players still unhappy with the state of Warcraft 3: Reforged might want to investigate Blizzard's support page. Members of the community have consistently reported success in getting a refund following their purchase.