The classic versions of Warcraft I and Warcraft II are being delisted from GOG on 13th December, at Blizzard’s request. However, anyone that buys the games before that date will continue to receive ongoing support from GOG themselves as part of the GOG Preservation Program.
Presumably someone at Blizzard just couldn’t handle the idea that the games are available in their original form when there’s recently been a remaster of the games – a bit like how you can’t buy a legit print of the original Star Wars films, for some reason. These remasters have brought a number of technical improvements, such as multi-unit selection in Warcraft I and right click actions across the board, as well as revised graphics that can be toggled on and off at will.
However, there’s something just a little bit off about the remastered graphics, because they forgot to accommodate for the tall pixels with the original game that came from playing DOS games on old CRT screens. It means that everything in the remastered game is just a bit… wider. Also the mission briefings have motion that are completely ignored for Blizzard’s remastered versions.
Warcraft on GOG, however, has already had a number of preservation efforts made as it’s integrated into the DOSBox emulator for the original, and with a custom DirectX wrapper for the sequel. As some of the first inductees into the Preservation Program, GOG committed to ensuring that these games would have technical support from them to maintain compatibility with the newest versions of Windows.
GOG is now extending that with a pledge to maintain compatibility even if a game is delisted from their store. It’s worth remembering that games bought via GOG are DRM free, so they can always be downloaded, stored and played later.
As part of this announcement, they’ve cooked up a $2 USD, €2, £1.50 and 8 PLN discount using the code MAKEWARCRAFTLIVEFOREVER on the Warcraft I & II Bundle, bringing it down a smidge to £10.39.
The Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest with the full trilogy of Warcraft RTS games is £34.99.
GOG closed out the announcement by saying:
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Blizzard on these titles. While the delisting is unfortunate, we assure you that every user who already owns these games on GOG will continue to benefit from our commitment and have access to versions that remain compatible with modern systems, preserving their experience for years to come.
“We’re thankful to every Blizzard employee who contributed to these timeless games and for your ongoing partnership over the years. Game preservation is at the heart of what we do, and we hope to continue collaborating with Blizzard to keep these iconic titles accessible to future generations of gamers.”
Source: press release
