Warcraft

For the 2016 film based on the video games, see Warcraft (film).

Warcraft
Genre(s)Real-time strategy, MMORPG, collectible card game
Developer(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Creator(s)Allen Adham
Frank Pearce
Michael Morhaime
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, iOS, Android
First releaseWarcraft: Orcs & Humans
November 15, 1994[1][2]
Latest releaseWarcraft Rumble
November 3, 2023

Warcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Warcraft Rumble. The first three of these core games are in the real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy. The fourth and best-selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where players control their character and interact with each other in a virtual world.

Expansion sets were released for Warcraft II (Beyond the Dark Portal), Warcraft III (The Frozen Throne) and multiple expansions were released for World of Warcraft (The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, Battle for Azeroth, Shadowlands, Dragonflight, and The War Within).[3][4] World of Warcraft's eleventh and twelfth expansions, Midnight, and The Last Titan, were announced in late 2023.[5]

At BlizzCon 2018 on November 2, 2018, Blizzard announced a remaster of Warcraft III entitled Warcraft III: Reforged featuring remodeled characters and graphics with a prospective release in 2019.[6] The game was officially released on January 28, 2020.[7]

All games in the series have been set in and around the high fantasy world of Azeroth. Initially, the start of the series focused on the human nations that make up the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Orcish Horde, which arrived in Azeroth via a dark portal, beginning the great wars. The Orcs came from another world, referred to as Draenor, the world that will be shattered into pieces by demonic magics during the events of Warcraft II, thereafter being known as Outland. Later on in the series the world of Azeroth was expanded, revealing the new continents of Kalimdor, Northrend, Pandaria, the Broken Isles, Kul Tiras, Zandalar, and the Dragon Isles, allowing the introduction of the Night Elves, Tauren, Pandaren, and other major races into the universe. The world of Azeroth also contains the traditional fantasy setting races of elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and trolls.[8][9] Unusually for the genre, all of these races are available to be played, whereas trolls and full-blooded orcs are usually presented in fantasy fiction as being solely antagonists for protagonists of the more "human-friendly" races.

The series spawned several books and other media, covering a broad range of characters and timelines in the Warcraft universe.[10] A collectible card game was published, which offered those who bought booster packs a chance to gain access codes to limited in-game content in World of Warcraft.[11][12] Comics have been released alongside the books, further covering parts of the universe's storyline. A short-lived, online subscription only magazine was available but later ceased publication after five issues.[13] A film adaptation, Warcraft, was released in 2016.[14]

  1. ^ "Blizzard's 'Warcraft: Orcs and Humans' Now Available - Press Release". Blizzard Entertainment. November 15, 1994.
  2. ^ Legacy Games Archived December 10, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed April 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "Blizzard Entertainment: Games". Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  4. ^ Egan, Toussaint (September 29, 2022). "World of Warcraft: Dragonflight lands this November". Polygon. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "World of Warcraft®: The War Within™". thewarwithin.blizzard.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Allegra, Frank (November 2, 2018). "Warcraft 3: Reforged is the HD remaster of the classic". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 17, 2019). "Warcraft 3: Reforged delayed to 2020". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "History of Warcraft". Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  9. ^ "The Warcraft Encyclopedia (Official Blizzard release)". Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  10. ^ "Warcraft Novels". Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  11. ^ "Upperdeck World of Warcraft TCG". The Upper Deck Company. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  12. ^ "WoW TCG- Loot Cards". The Upper Deck Company. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  13. ^ "World of Warcraft the Magazine". Blizzard Entertainment, Future US Ltd. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  14. ^ Pamela McClintock; Ben Fritz (May 8, 2006). "Brave new 'World'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2007.