Ready for some classic gaming? Blizzard has added the OG Warcraft, Warcraft II, and Diablo to Battle Net, with the latter getting a bonus.
A huge chunk of Blizzard's past history and glory is now directly available on its own platform. With minimal fanfare, the publisher today added Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and the original Diablo to Battle Net. So quiet was the announcement that, if you went to the shop page, your only inclination of their addition is under each franchise's tab. Weird. That's weird, right?
Regardless, if you've missed some of the most important games in the Blizzard oeuvre then now's your chance to tie them to your Blizzard account for good. I can now complete my collection, along with the ancient CD key for Warcraft 3 and The Frozen Throne still tied to my account.
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Warcraft, Warcraft II, Diablo to Battle Net
The news of classics such as Warcraft, Warcraft II, and Diablo coming to Battle Net isn't exciting if you keep on up on this sort of thing. It appears that, for all intents and purposes, these are the GOG versions of the games. However, that comes with an upside of Diablo Classic coming with the Hellfire expansion.
There's an interesting bit of history with this expansion, dating back to before Blizzard was swallowed whole by Activision. In 1997 the parent company of Blizzard was Davidson & Associates, a PC software firm that worked in conjunction with Sierra Online. Despite the original game and its sequel being developed by the Blizzard North team, Hellfire was commissioned by Davidson against the wishes of Blizzard.
And thus, developed by Synergistic Software, the Hellfire expansion was released on Sierra Online and languished in purgatory until only recently. Hellfire was made available on GOG with the digital version of Diablo Classic in 2019, but is now available on Battle Net, along with Warcraft and Warcraft II.
If you've missed on these games then now's your chance. If anything, it may provide some appreciation for how far each franchise has come. Or... It may remind you of a better time when it felt like Blizzard wasn't just another cog in the Call of Duty machine.
Either way.
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