Warcraft III: Reforged was released on 29 January 2020, after the release was pushed back from 31 December 2019. As such, many fans, myself included, believed that this meant Blizzard would ensure that this game would be worthy of the legacy of the original Warcraft III.
Customers have complained that the game is clearly unfinished.
Patrick Young
This was evidently not the case, with many fans complaining about the subpar graphics, the lack of a quality storyline and a host of bugs that have caused player enjoyment to dwindle. This begs the question: what exactly did this pushed back release date do for customers?
Customers have complained that the game is clearly unfinished, remarking how the colours and textures among buildings of the same class are different, and how there is no added content past the “30 gigabytes of skins”. This has rightfully caused outrage amongst customers, with many demanding that Blizzard offers a form of compensation to all those who paid out for an essentially broken game.
Did Blizzard knowingly release a faulty game? No one can truly say, but what can be said is that Blizzard is infamous for paying little attention to the demands of fans in the past. Since its merger with Activision, this problem may have worsened.
Their focus might have further shifted from their fans and their enjoyment to money, and how to make more of it. This may be why they released Warcraft III: Reforged before all the bugs were removed from the game.
Had they done this, perhaps the game would have been seen more favourably by reviewers, casual players, and long-term fans alike. Yet, in their haste, Activision Blizzard has likely squandered the potential of this remake, possibly condemning it to a future tainted with lacklustre reviews.