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In a surprise announcement, Blizzard Entertainment released remastered versions of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness today, as part of Warcraft's 30th Anniversary stream. These are the first official remasters of these 1994 and 1995 strategy games, and both are now available on PC.
The remasters replace the original sprite-based graphics with new hand-drawn art while maintaining the classic style. A real-time graphics toggle lets players switch between original and remastered visuals instantly, allowing direct comparison of the detailed new artwork with the original pixels. The redrawn visuals extend to all game elements, including units, buildings, portraits, and environmental art.
The Warcraft: Orcs & Humans remaster also addresses long-standing control limitations. New features include widescreen 16:9 support, the ability to select multiple units by dragging a selection box, and right-click unit movement. The interface now displays unit health bars directly on the battlefield and includes combat tooltips, and the mission selection interface has been completely redesigned for modern screens.
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness maintains complete multiplayer functionality, with all legacy custom maps remaining compatible in the remaster. It has received similar interface improvements, including expanded unit selection limits and an updated mission selection screen. While adding modern control options, the remaster still preserves the game's original keyboard shortcuts.
