Blizzard is rereleasing Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and the original Diablo through Battle.net. The classic 90’s games are available now on Blizzard’s launcher.
The three titles are among the first games Blizzard ever released, with 1994’s Warcraft: Orcs & Humans the first Warcraft game the company developed, and a groundbreaking title in the real-time strategy games of the time. Both Warcraft titles were pioneers of multiplayer modes in RTS games, and the Battle.net rereleases still allow you to go head-to-head with friends.
The rerelease of 1995’s Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness also comes bundled with its expansion, Beyond The Dark Portal, and the game files contain the game’s full original manual–which Blizzard has also uploaded online.
The game that launched alongside Blizzard’s first iteration of Battle.net, 1997’s Diablo has also been re-released on Battle.net this week. The first game in Blizzard’s popular franchise, Diablo sees players crawling dungeons to slay demons and collect loot. This re-release also comes with the game’s original manual, including a bestiary and overview of the world’s lore, which you can also find online here.
Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in October 2023, after a lengthy regulatory process that scrutinized the massive $69 billion deal. Since that deal was finalized, Microsoft announced it would be laying off around 1,900 people from its game division. While it’s unclear how many of those employees came over from Activision-Blizzard, a previously announced survival game from Blizzard has been cancelled as a result of the layoffs.
