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Wikipedia

Warcraft

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.

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

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 and Dragonflight).[3][4] World of Warcraft's tenth, eleventh, and twelfth expansions, The War Within, 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]

Video games edit

Release timeline
1994Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
1995Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
1996Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
1997
1998
1999Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition
2000
2001
2002Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
2003Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
2004World of Warcraft
2005
2006
2007World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
2008World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2009
2010World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
2011
2012World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
2013
2014Hearthstone
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
2015
2016World of Warcraft: Legion
2017
2018World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
2019World of Warcraft Classic
2020Warcraft III: Reforged
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
2021World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic
2022World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
2023Warcraft Rumble
2024World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic
World of Warcraft: The War Within
TBAWorld of Warcraft: Midnight
World of Warcraft: The Last Titan

The first three games in the Warcraft series, including their expansion packs, were all released on both the PC and Macintosh. All of these games were of the real-time strategy genre. Each game proceeded to carry on the storyline of the previous games, and each introduced new features and content to improve gameplay. The name "Warcraft" was proposed by Blizzard developer Sam Didier. It was chosen because "it sounded super cool", according to Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham, without any particular meaning attached to it.[15]

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness was the first game in the series to feature play over the internet using Battle.net, although this was not included until a later release of the game. Warcraft II was also the first in the series to be re-released as a "Battle Chest", a bundled copy of the game containing both the original and expansion. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos was the first game in the series to feature a Collector's Edition, which all subsequent games have released as well. Warcraft III and World of Warcraft also have both had "Battle Chests" released for them subsequent to their initial release. The "Battle.net" edition of Warcraft II was also the first to introduce the use of CD keys to the series, requiring each user online to have their own copy of the game in order to be able to connect.

In 1998, an adventure game in the series, Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, was announced as being canceled, having been previously delayed from a 1997 release.

In 2004, Blizzard Entertainment moved the series away from the real-time strategy genre and released World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Requiring a subscription fee to be paid to play, it also introduced regular additional content to the series in the form of patches. World of Warcraft gained popularity worldwide, becoming the world's largest subscription-based MMORPG in 2008.[16] The game reached a peak 12 million subscribers worldwide in October 2010.[17] World of Warcraft has had eight expansions as of 2022 with a ninth on the way. During the production of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce stated that "If there's a team that's passionate about doing another Warcraft [real-time strategy], then that's definitely something we would consider. It's nothing that we're working on right now, we have development teams working on Cataclysm, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Diablo III, and when those teams are all off the projects they're working on, they'll be intimately involved in the discussions about what's next".

In 2013, Blizzard announced a new free-to-play online digital collectible card game, originally titled Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, with the beta being available in summer of 2013.[18] In March 2014, Hearthstone was released.[19] In addition to free-to-play basic gameplay Hearthstone contains fee-based features such as additional card packs.

On May 3, 2022, Blizzard announced a new Warcraft free-to-play mobile game called Warcraft Arclight Rumble.[20]

In 2022, Blizzard and NetEase cancelled an unannounced World of Warcraft mobile spin-off game.[21]

On November 3, 2023, Blizzard released the free-to-play mobile tower defense and action strategy game Warcraft Rumble.[22] At BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard Entertainment unveiled three forthcoming expansions to World of Warcraft: The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan. These expansions collectively constitute the Worldsoul saga, a narrative continuum led by Chris Metzen. Blizzard also announced World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic and confirming their commitment to a more accelerated timeline for future content drops.[23]

Other media edit

Tabletop games edit

Collectible card games edit

Novels edit

  • Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor (2000)
  • Warcraft: Day of the Dragon (2001)
  • Warcraft: Lord of the Clans (2001)
  • Warcraft: The Last Guardian (2002)
  • Warcraft: War of the Ancients (2007)
    • The Well of Eternity (2004)
    • The Demon Soul (2004)
    • The Sundering (2005)
  • World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred (2006)
  • Warcraft Archive (2006)
  • World of Warcraft: The Chronicles of War (2010)
  • World of Warcraft: Night of the Dragon (2008)
  • World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King (2009)
  • World of Warcraft: Stormrage (2010)
  • World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm (2010)
  • World of Warcraft: Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects (2011)
  • World of Warcraft: Wolfheart (2012)
  • World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War (2012)
  • World of Warcraft: Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde (2013)[25]
  • World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects Parts I-V (2013)
  • World of Warcraft: Paragons (2014)
  • World of Warcraft: War Crimes (2014)
  • World of Warcraft: Destination: Pandaria (2014)
  • World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (2016)
  • World of Warcraft: Illidan (2016)
  • Warcraft: Durotan - The Official Film Prequel (2016)
  • Warcraft: The Official Novelization (2016)
  • World of Warcraft: Traveler (2016)
  • World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2 (2017)
  • World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3 (2018)
  • World of Warcraft: Traveller: The Spiral Path (2018)
  • World of Warcraft: Before the Storm (2018)
  • World of Warcraft: Traveller: The Shining Blade (2019)
  • World of Warcraft: Shadows Rising (2020)
  • World of Warcraft: Sylvanas (2022)

Comics edit

  • World of Warcraft (2007 – 2009), a series published by DC Comics imprint WildStorm.[26][27]
  • World of Warcraft: Ashbringer (2008 – 2009), a four-issue mini-series published by WildStorm.
  • World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen (October 9, 2012)
  • World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria (September 25, 2012)
  • Warcraft Saga Issue 1
  • World of Warcraft: Dark Riders (May 7, 2013)
  • World of Warcraft: Bloodsworn (August 13, 2013)
  • World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (2014) a three-issue series published by Blizzard
  • Warcraft: Bonds of Brotherhood (2016)
  • World of Warcraft: Legion (2016) a four-issue series published by Blizzard

Manga edit

  • Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy, a manhwa series published by Tokyopop.
    • Dragon Hunt (March 2005)
    • Shadows of Ice (March 2006)
    • Ghostlands (March 2007)
  • Warcraft: Legends (2008 – 2009), a five-part graphic novel series, which is a continuation from The Sunwell Trilogy.
  • World of Warcraft: Death Knight (December 1, 2009)
  • World of Warcraft: Mage (June 1, 2010)
  • World of Warcraft: Shaman (September 28, 2010)
  • World of Warcraft: Shadow Wing
    • The Dragons of Outland (June 2010)
    • Nexus Point (March 2011)

Magazine edit

In 2009, Blizzard announced that it would be releasing a magazine with Future US Ltd. This magazine would be purchasable by online subscription, and not for sale in newsagents or stores, making them collector's items. The magazine released quarterly, and each contained 148 pages. No advertisements were included in the magazine.[13] In September 2011, Blizzard announced that the magazine was ceasing publication. Refunds, plush toys or in-game pets were given to subscribers depending on the outstanding length of subscription.[28]

Film adaptation edit

In a May 9, 2006 press release, Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures announced that they would develop a live-action film set in the Warcraft universe.[29] At BlizzCon 2008, according to Mike Morhaime, a script was being written.[30]

In January 2013, Duncan Jones was announced to direct the adaptation,[31] from a script by Charles Leavitt.[32] The film was set to begin principal photography in early 2014 with a plot based on the novel Warcraft: The Last Guardian.[33] On July 20, 2013, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment unveiled a sizzle reel during their San Diego Comic Con 2013 panel, with Duncan Jones hopping on stage briefly to discuss the project.[34] Production on the film started shooting on January 13, 2014.[35] The first full-length trailer for the film was released on November 6, 2015.[36] Warcraft premiered in Los Angeles on June 6, 2016, and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on June 10, 2016. It received mostly negative reviews from critics, and grossed $439 million worldwide.

Heroes of the Storm edit

In 2015, Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm, a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game in which players can control various characters from Blizzard's franchises as playable heroes, the majority of which come from the Warcraft universe.[37][38] The game also features numerous mounts based on mounts or other creatures from World of Warcraft, as well as a battleground based on the PvP zone Alterac Pass.[39] A number of Warcraft-themed skins have been introduced for Heroes of the Storm in the “Echoes of Alterac” event in June 2018.[40] Various soundtracks from World of Warcraft, such as Obsidian Sanctum from Wrath of the Lich King, The Wandering Isle from Mists of Pandaria, and Stormwind theme, are present as background music in the game.[41] Heroes of the Storm is inspired by Defense of the Ancients, a community-created mod based on Warcraft III.[37]

Setting edit

Location edit

Most of the Warcraft series takes place on the planet of Azeroth. Other planets in the Warcraft universe include: Draenor (and its sundered remnants, known as Outland), Argus, K'aresh, Mardum (also known as the Shattered Abyss), Xoroth, Rancora, and Nathreza. There are also several metaphysical areas mentioned, including the Emerald Dream, the Elemental Planes, the Twisting Nether, the Great Dark Beyond, and the Shadowlands. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the first game in the series, takes place in Azeroth.

Azeroth edit

 
Northrend
 
Pandaria

Azeroth has four known continents, named the Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Northrend, and recently rediscovered Pandaria. All continents are separated by the Great Sea. Three major archipelagos also reside in the Great Sea: the Broken Isles; Zandalar, the birthplace of the troll civilization; Kul Tiras, a maritime human nation; and the Dragon Isles, the birthplace of the dragons. In the center of the Great Sea is an enormous, everlasting vortex called the "Maelstrom" beneath which lies the aquatic city of Nazjatar, home of the amphibious Naga. Near the Maelstrom lies the volcanic Isle of Kezan, home of the goblins.

The Eastern Kingdoms are the primary setting of the first two games (and their expansions) and the first half of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. It is made up of 22 areas or zones. The kingdom of Stormwind lies at the south of the Eastern Kingdoms, south of the dwarven kingdom of Khaz Modan and north of the jungle known as Stranglethorn Vale. The capital city of Stormwind, Stormwind City, is nestled into the northwest of Elwynn Forest, a large forest at the center of the kingdom. The Dwarven capital in Khaz Modan, called Ironforge, is located in Dun Morogh.

The former human kingdom of Lordaeron, which successfully headed the human Alliance in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness but later fell to the Scourge in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, is located north of the southern kingdoms. Underneath the ruined city of Lordaeron now lies the Undercity, capital of the Forsaken, a rebel band of the undead Scourge. The area is now known as Tirisfal Glades and is threatened by the Western Plaguelands held back at The Bulwark. Northeast of Lordaeron is the elven nation of Quel'Thalas and its capital city, Silvermoon, both of which were conquered by the Scourge in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

The continent of Kalimdor was introduced in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and is made up of 18 zones. Whereas the Eastern Kingdoms can be described as the equivalent of medieval Europe, with traditional kingdoms and advanced cities, Kalimdor can be compared to the Americas at the time of the first arrivals of Europeans, full of wild lands. The geography and topography of Kalimdor are similar to North America and Africa, with massive, ancient forests and mountains covering the North and vast deserts and savannahs in the South. The Night Elven kingdom is located in the northwest region of Kalimdor, also including the island Teldrassil (actually a giant tree, similar in lore and spelling to Yggdrasil) off the northwest coast, which contains the city of Darnassus.

To the south, past the Ashenvale Forest, is a stretch of land known as The Barrens, situated between the grasslands of Mulgore to the west, and Durotar, the land settled by the Orcs, to the east. Mulgore is home to the Tauren capital of Thunder Bluff, a large city of tepees and lodges built on top of a conglomerate of high plateaus which are only accessible by air travel and a great series of lifts built down to the ground. In the north of Durotar is the fortress-city of Orgrimmar, the capital of the Orcs.

The third continent, Northrend, is located in the northern polar region of Azeroth and is the primary stronghold of the malevolent Undead Scourge. Northrend is featured in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion set Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and is the main location featured in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft.[9]

In the expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Azeroth has been changed permanently in-game, even for players without the expansion set installed. The corrupted Black Dragon Aspect, Deathwing the Destroyer (formerly Neltharion, the Earth-Warder) has broken free from imprisonment in Deepholm, part of the Elemental Plane, and caused major changes and destruction in the land. In addition, many new parts of the continents of Azeroth that have previously been inaccessible have become key parts in the new world.

Lorewise, this is the second major change to the face of Azeroth, the first being the Sundering. The Sundering was caused as a result of the War of the Ancients where demons of the Burning Legion invaded the ancient Kalimdor. It caused a massive explosion that split the one continent into the four seen in-game and created the Maelstrom.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria was the fourth expansion released and it focuses on the mythical and long-forgotten lands of Pandaria, a continent far to the south that has until now been shrouded in magical mists. With both factions landing on Pandaria, adventurers rediscover the ancient Pandaren people, whose wisdom will help guide them to new destinies; the Pandaren Empire's ancient enemy, the Mantid; and their legendary oppressors, the enigmatic Mogu.

The storyline for Mists of Pandaria is split into multiple chapters. The story arc that introduces Pandaria—where players discover the continent and level up, helping to solve problems and figure out what happened for the past 10,000 years and why—was included entirely within the initial expansion release. Later chapters in the storyline brought the war between the Horde and the Alliance back into focus, including changing parts of Pandaria (via phasing) to show additional settlements, and eventually returning the players back to Kalimdor for a final showdown, dethroning Warchief Garrosh Hellscream.

World of Warcraft: Legion was the sixth expansion released and it focuses on the Broken Isles, a continent and group of islands located northeast of the Maelstrom in the middle of the Great Sea; one of the islands contains the Tomb of the Dark Titan, Sargeras. The Burning Legion has started an invasion of Azeroth and the player characters must find powerful artifacts to stop the invasion.

Having thwarted the Burning Legion's attempts to invade Azeroth, the players and other significant lore characters traveled to Argus, the homeworld of the Burning Legion, in order to end its threat. While successful, they couldn't stop Sargeras entirely. Before being banished and imprisoned, he thrust a magical sword into the surface of Azeroth, leaving the planet wounded and bleeding a magical substance called "Azerite".

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth was the seventh expansion released and it focuses on the islands of Kul Tiras and Zandalar, two islands which are home to their respective kingdoms. This is the first expansion that introduces two new continents on initial release. During this expansion, the Horde and Alliance seek the aid of the kingdoms of Zandalar and Kul Tiras, respectively, for the reignited war between the factions. Throughout campaigns on both continents, adventurers learn the history of both kingdoms and uncover plots involving the Old Gods.

Events influenced by N'Zoth and his followers lead to the discovery of the continents of Nazjatar, the underwater kingdom of Azshara, and Mechagon, an island inhabited by the Mechagnomes. The final patch of Battle for Azeroth takes players back to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Uldum to cure them of the corruption of N'Zoth, and ultimately face the Old God himself in his empire of Ny'alotha.

The story of Battle for Azeroth is also the first time players are given choices that can have a significant impact on their own adventures. One significant choice is whether to join the orc Varrok Saurfang in his rebellion against the Horde Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner. Another choice that players are given is whether to become a servant of N'Zoth. Both choices lead to unique dialogue, cinematics, and quests, depending on the choices made.

The ninth expansion, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, centers around the reappearance of the Dragon Isles, home of the Dragons and their many aspects, including the humanoid Dracthyr. The various Dragon groups and subspecies are referred to as "Dragonflights", and are all descendants of the original proto-dragons who chose to become empowered by the magic of a race of god-like beings called the Titans.

The plot of Dragonflight deals with the awakening of the Dracthyr after 20,000 years in response to the threat of Raszageth the Storm-Eater, a "Primalist" proto-dragon who seeks to separate the rest of her kind from the Dragonflights and retake Azeroth for themselves. The Dracthyr are divided into two groups, one that allies with the Alliance and one the Horde, to deal with this threat. Raszageth eventually falls to both groups, but not before she releases her three siblings: Fyrakk the Blazing, Vyranoth the Frozenheart, and Iridikron the Stoneheart.

Draenor (Outland) edit

Draenor, which is featured in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, is the original homeland of the Orcs and past home of the Draenei.

Draenor was torn apart when the Orcish leader, Ner'Zhul (later the first Lich King) opened dozens of portals to other worlds in an attempt to escape the invading Alliance Armies from Azeroth. The sheer number and combined power of the portals ripped Draenor into fragments and cast the remainder into the mysterious parallel dimension called the Twisting Nether, Home of the Demons. The remnants of the world are now known as Outland, and feature in the last mission of the human campaign of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (though, without any actual terrain changes), Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and more prominently in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.[9]

An intact Draenor is the main feature of the fifth World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, which takes place 35 years earlier in an alternate timeline.

Major races and factions edit

The following races have been sorted into their respective factions:

The Alliance edit

The Alliance has been present in some form in all Warcraft games. In all three real-time strategy games, the Alliance are the protagonists of their campaign, and are one of the two main protagonist factions in World of Warcraft. They are also the primary antagonists of Warcraft and the orc campaigns in Warcraft II. The Alliance began in Warcraft II when the human kingdoms and demihumans strategically united to fend off the conquering Horde. Thus they are enemies to the Horde. The Alliance has evolved over the course of the franchise, losing allies and gaining new members, but the Alliance has endured over the years. They are united to uphold their common noble ideals and are bound together by a sense of brotherhood forged by all the battles they've endured together. The major races of the Alliance are the humans of Stormwind,[42] the High Elves, the Night Elves of Teldrassil,[43][44] and the Dwarves of Ironforge.[45] Other races who have joined or allied with the Alliance include the Gnomes of Gnomergan,[46] the Draenei of Outland,[47] the Worgens of Gilneas (creatures that resemble hunched over werewolves), and the Tushui Pandaren.[48] The Alliance is led by a military commander who coordinates the military actions of all the races in the Alliance. The title for this position depends on the rank of the individual (e.g., Anduin Lothar was a knight and his title was Supreme Allied Commander. Varian Wrynn is a king and his title is High King). This title may require an aspect of diplomacy or has strong political clout as the other leaders can choose not to commit their forces to the commander if they dislike the commander's leadership. Though how much forces and resources are contributed to the war effort is left to each individual leader's discretion, when the military commander issues a call to arms, all races of the Alliance are expected to contribute.

The Horde edit

In the first two Warcraft games, the Horde is made of the orcs under the command of the Burning Legion and are enemies of the human led Alliance. The orcs attempt in both games to conquer the human kingdoms. Eventually the Horde was defeated, most of its leaders killed, and the orcs placed in internment camps.[49][50]

The third Warcraft game, Reign of Chaos, details the orcs shaking off both the chains of the Alliance, and the corruption of the Burning Legion. The Horde expanded their ranks by forging alliances with the Blood Elves, the Forsaken,[51] the Goblins, the Huojin Pandaren,[48] the Tauren, and the Trolls.

Reception edit

In 1999, Next Generation listed Warcraft and Starcraft as number 32 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "While Warcraft did not create the realtime strategy genre, it made it appealing to a broad audience. Warcraft II went on to refine the genre. Easy to play, nuanced in design, a pleasure to look at, and often a laugh riot, Warcraft II was nearly perfect."[52]

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  34. ^ McWhertor, Michael (July 20, 2013). "World of Warcraft movie teaser trailer shown at Comic-Con July 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine". Polygon. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
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  40. ^ Prell, Sam (June 12, 2018). "Heroes of the Storm's Echoes of Alterac event may not be Warcraft 4, but it's the next best thing". gamesradar. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
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  49. ^ Aaron Rosenburg; Christie Golden (2008). Beyond the Dark Portal. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-5086-0.
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Further reading edit

  • Gilliam, Ryan (November 11, 2019). "It's been a weird decade for Warcraft". Polygon. from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.

External links edit

  • Official World of Warcraft community site (US)
  • Official World of Warcraft community site (EU)
  • Warcraft on the Warcraft Wiki

warcraft, 2016, film, based, video, games, film, franchise, video, games, novels, other, media, created, blizzard, entertainment, series, made, core, games, orcs, humans, tides, darkness, reign, chaos, world, hearthstone, rumble, first, three, these, core, gam. For the 2016 film based on the video games see Warcraft film 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 amp 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 WarcraftGenre s Real time strategy MMORPG collectible card gameDeveloper s Blizzard EntertainmentPublisher s Blizzard EntertainmentCreator s Allen AdhamFrank PearceMichael MorhaimePlatform s MS DOS Microsoft Windows Mac OS Sega Saturn PlayStation iOS AndroidFirst releaseWarcraft Orcs amp HumansNovember 15 1994 1 2 Latest releaseWarcraft RumbleNovember 3 2023 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 and Dragonflight 3 4 World of Warcraft s tenth eleventh and twelfth expansions The War Within 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 Contents 1 Video games 2 Other media 2 1 Tabletop games 2 2 Collectible card games 2 3 Novels 2 4 Comics 2 5 Manga 2 6 Magazine 2 7 Film adaptation 2 8 Heroes of the Storm 3 Setting 3 1 Location 3 1 1 Azeroth 3 1 2 Draenor Outland 3 2 Major races and factions 3 2 1 The Alliance 3 2 2 The Horde 4 Reception 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksVideo games editRelease timeline1994Warcraft Orcs amp Humans1995Warcraft II Tides of Darkness1996Warcraft II Beyond the Dark Portal199719981999Warcraft II Battle net Edition200020012002Warcraft III Reign of Chaos2003Warcraft III The Frozen Throne2004World of Warcraft200520062007World of Warcraft The Burning Crusade2008World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King20092010World of Warcraft Cataclysm20112012World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria20132014HearthstoneWorld of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor20152016World of Warcraft Legion20172018World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth2019World of Warcraft Classic2020Warcraft III ReforgedWorld of Warcraft Shadowlands2021World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic2022World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King ClassicWorld of Warcraft Dragonflight2023Warcraft Rumble2024World of Warcraft Cataclysm ClassicWorld of Warcraft The War WithinTBAWorld of Warcraft MidnightWorld of Warcraft The Last Titan The first three games in the Warcraft series including their expansion packs were all released on both the PC and Macintosh All of these games were of the real time strategy genre Each game proceeded to carry on the storyline of the previous games and each introduced new features and content to improve gameplay The name Warcraft was proposed by Blizzard developer Sam Didier It was chosen because it sounded super cool according to Blizzard co founder Allen Adham without any particular meaning attached to it 15 Warcraft II Tides of Darkness was the first game in the series to feature play over the internet using Battle net although this was not included until a later release of the game Warcraft II was also the first in the series to be re released as a Battle Chest a bundled copy of the game containing both the original and expansion Warcraft III Reign of Chaos was the first game in the series to feature a Collector s Edition which all subsequent games have released as well Warcraft III and World of Warcraft also have both had Battle Chests released for them subsequent to their initial release The Battle net edition of Warcraft II was also the first to introduce the use of CD keys to the series requiring each user online to have their own copy of the game in order to be able to connect In 1998 an adventure game in the series Warcraft Adventures Lord of the Clans was announced as being canceled having been previously delayed from a 1997 release In 2004 Blizzard Entertainment moved the series away from the real time strategy genre and released World of Warcraft a massively multiplayer online role playing game MMORPG Requiring a subscription fee to be paid to play it also introduced regular additional content to the series in the form of patches World of Warcraft gained popularity worldwide becoming the world s largest subscription based MMORPG in 2008 16 The game reached a peak 12 million subscribers worldwide in October 2010 17 World of Warcraft has had eight expansions as of 2022 with a ninth on the way During the production of StarCraft II Wings of Liberty Blizzard co founder Frank Pearce stated that If there s a team that s passionate about doing another Warcraft real time strategy then that s definitely something we would consider It s nothing that we re working on right now we have development teams working on Cataclysm StarCraft II Wings of Liberty Diablo III and when those teams are all off the projects they re working on they ll be intimately involved in the discussions about what s next In 2013 Blizzard announced a new free to play online digital collectible card game originally titled Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft with the beta being available in summer of 2013 18 In March 2014 Hearthstone was released 19 In addition to free to play basic gameplay Hearthstone contains fee based features such as additional card packs On May 3 2022 Blizzard announced a new Warcraft free to play mobile game called Warcraft Arclight Rumble 20 In 2022 Blizzard and NetEase cancelled an unannounced World of Warcraft mobile spin off game 21 On November 3 2023 Blizzard released the free to play mobile tower defense and action strategy game Warcraft Rumble 22 At BlizzCon 2023 Blizzard Entertainment unveiled three forthcoming expansions to World of Warcraft The War Within Midnight and The Last Titan These expansions collectively constitute the Worldsoul saga a narrative continuum led by Chris Metzen Blizzard also announced World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic and confirming their commitment to a more accelerated timeline for future content drops 23 Other media editTabletop games edit Warcraft The Board Game strategic board game from Fantasy Flight Games based on Warcraft III Warcraft The Roleplaying Game role playing game from Sword amp Sorcery Studios World of Warcraft The Board Game board game based on World of Warcraft also by Fantasy Flight Games World of Warcraft The Adventure Game board game based on World of Warcraft also by Fantasy Flight Games World of Warcraft Miniatures Game a miniature war game based on World of Warcraft by Upper Deck Entertainment Collectible card games edit World of Warcraft Trading Card Game 2006 2013 24 Novels edit Warcraft Of Blood and Honor 2000 Warcraft Day of the Dragon 2001 Warcraft Lord of the Clans 2001 Warcraft The Last Guardian 2002 Warcraft War of the Ancients 2007 The Well of Eternity 2004 The Demon Soul 2004 The Sundering 2005 World of Warcraft Cycle of Hatred 2006 Warcraft Archive 2006 World of Warcraft The Chronicles of War 2010 World of Warcraft Rise of the Horde 2006 World of Warcraft Tides of Darkness 2007 World of Warcraft Beyond the Dark Portal 2008 World of Warcraft Night of the Dragon 2008 World of Warcraft Arthas Rise of the Lich King 2009 World of Warcraft Stormrage 2010 World of Warcraft The Shattering Prelude to Cataclysm 2010 World of Warcraft Thrall Twilight of the Aspects 2011 World of Warcraft Wolfheart 2012 World of Warcraft Jaina Proudmoore Tides of War 2012 World of Warcraft Vol jin Shadows of the Horde 2013 25 World of Warcraft Dawn of the Aspects Parts I V 2013 World of Warcraft Paragons 2014 World of Warcraft War Crimes 2014 World of Warcraft Destination Pandaria 2014 World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1 2016 World of Warcraft Illidan 2016 Warcraft Durotan The Official Film Prequel 2016 Warcraft The Official Novelization 2016 World of Warcraft Traveler 2016 World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 2 2017 World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 3 2018 World of Warcraft Traveller The Spiral Path 2018 World of Warcraft Before the Storm 2018 World of Warcraft Traveller The Shining Blade 2019 World of Warcraft Shadows Rising 2020 World of Warcraft Sylvanas 2022 Comics edit World of Warcraft 2007 2009 a series published by DC Comics imprint WildStorm 26 27 World of Warcraft Ashbringer 2008 2009 a four issue mini series published by WildStorm World of Warcraft Curse of the Worgen October 9 2012 World of Warcraft Pearl of Pandaria September 25 2012 Warcraft Saga Issue 1 World of Warcraft Dark Riders May 7 2013 World of Warcraft Bloodsworn August 13 2013 World of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor 2014 a three issue series published by Blizzard Warcraft Bonds of Brotherhood 2016 World of Warcraft Legion 2016 a four issue series published by Blizzard Manga edit Warcraft The Sunwell Trilogy a manhwa series published by Tokyopop Dragon Hunt March 2005 Shadows of Ice March 2006 Ghostlands March 2007 Warcraft Legends 2008 2009 a five part graphic novel series which is a continuation from The Sunwell Trilogy World of Warcraft Death Knight December 1 2009 World of Warcraft Mage June 1 2010 World of Warcraft Shaman September 28 2010 World of Warcraft Shadow Wing The Dragons of Outland June 2010 Nexus Point March 2011 Magazine edit In 2009 Blizzard announced that it would be releasing a magazine with Future US Ltd This magazine would be purchasable by online subscription and not for sale in newsagents or stores making them collector s items The magazine released quarterly and each contained 148 pages No advertisements were included in the magazine 13 In September 2011 Blizzard announced that the magazine was ceasing publication Refunds plush toys or in game pets were given to subscribers depending on the outstanding length of subscription 28 Film adaptation edit Main article Warcraft film In a May 9 2006 press release Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures announced that they would develop a live action film set in the Warcraft universe 29 At BlizzCon 2008 according to Mike Morhaime a script was being written 30 In January 2013 Duncan Jones was announced to direct the adaptation 31 from a script by Charles Leavitt 32 The film was set to begin principal photography in early 2014 with a plot based on the novel Warcraft The Last Guardian 33 On July 20 2013 Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros Entertainment unveiled a sizzle reel during their San Diego Comic Con 2013 panel with Duncan Jones hopping on stage briefly to discuss the project 34 Production on the film started shooting on January 13 2014 35 The first full length trailer for the film was released on November 6 2015 36 Warcraft premiered in Los Angeles on June 6 2016 and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on June 10 2016 It received mostly negative reviews from critics and grossed 439 million worldwide Heroes of the Storm edit Main article Heroes of the Storm In 2015 Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game in which players can control various characters from Blizzard s franchises as playable heroes the majority of which come from the Warcraft universe 37 38 The game also features numerous mounts based on mounts or other creatures from World of Warcraft as well as a battleground based on the PvP zone Alterac Pass 39 A number of Warcraft themed skins have been introduced for Heroes of the Storm in the Echoes of Alterac event in June 2018 40 Various soundtracks from World of Warcraft such as Obsidian Sanctum from Wrath of the Lich King The Wandering Isle from Mists of Pandaria and Stormwind theme are present as background music in the game 41 Heroes of the Storm is inspired by Defense of the Ancients a community created mod based on Warcraft III 37 Setting editLocation edit Most of the Warcraft series takes place on the planet of Azeroth Other planets in the Warcraft universe include Draenor and its sundered remnants known as Outland Argus K aresh Mardum also known as the Shattered Abyss Xoroth Rancora and Nathreza There are also several metaphysical areas mentioned including the Emerald Dream the Elemental Planes the Twisting Nether the Great Dark Beyond and the Shadowlands Warcraft Orcs amp Humans the first game in the series takes place in Azeroth Azeroth edit nbsp Northrend nbsp Pandaria Azeroth has four known continents named the Eastern Kingdoms Kalimdor Northrend and recently rediscovered Pandaria All continents are separated by the Great Sea Three major archipelagos also reside in the Great Sea the Broken Isles Zandalar the birthplace of the troll civilization Kul Tiras a maritime human nation and the Dragon Isles the birthplace of the dragons In the center of the Great Sea is an enormous everlasting vortex called the Maelstrom beneath which lies the aquatic city of Nazjatar home of the amphibious Naga Near the Maelstrom lies the volcanic Isle of Kezan home of the goblins The Eastern Kingdoms are the primary setting of the first two games and their expansions and the first half of Warcraft III Reign of Chaos It is made up of 22 areas or zones The kingdom of Stormwind lies at the south of the Eastern Kingdoms south of the dwarven kingdom of Khaz Modan and north of the jungle known as Stranglethorn Vale The capital city of Stormwind Stormwind City is nestled into the northwest of Elwynn Forest a large forest at the center of the kingdom The Dwarven capital in Khaz Modan called Ironforge is located in Dun Morogh The former human kingdom of Lordaeron which successfully headed the human Alliance in Warcraft II Tides of Darkness but later fell to the Scourge in Warcraft III Reign of Chaos is located north of the southern kingdoms Underneath the ruined city of Lordaeron now lies the Undercity capital of the Forsaken a rebel band of the undead Scourge The area is now known as Tirisfal Glades and is threatened by the Western Plaguelands held back at The Bulwark Northeast of Lordaeron is the elven nation of Quel Thalas and its capital city Silvermoon both of which were conquered by the Scourge in Warcraft III Reign of Chaos The continent of Kalimdor was introduced in Warcraft III Reign of Chaos and is made up of 18 zones Whereas the Eastern Kingdoms can be described as the equivalent of medieval Europe with traditional kingdoms and advanced cities Kalimdor can be compared to the Americas at the time of the first arrivals of Europeans full of wild lands The geography and topography of Kalimdor are similar to North America and Africa with massive ancient forests and mountains covering the North and vast deserts and savannahs in the South The Night Elven kingdom is located in the northwest region of Kalimdor also including the island Teldrassil actually a giant tree similar in lore and spelling to Yggdrasil off the northwest coast which contains the city of Darnassus To the south past the Ashenvale Forest is a stretch of land known as The Barrens situated between the grasslands of Mulgore to the west and Durotar the land settled by the Orcs to the east Mulgore is home to the Tauren capital of Thunder Bluff a large city of tepees and lodges built on top of a conglomerate of high plateaus which are only accessible by air travel and a great series of lifts built down to the ground In the north of Durotar is the fortress city of Orgrimmar the capital of the Orcs The third continent Northrend is located in the northern polar region of Azeroth and is the primary stronghold of the malevolent Undead Scourge Northrend is featured in Warcraft III Reign of Chaos and its expansion set Warcraft III The Frozen Throne and is the main location featured in World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft 9 In the expansion World of Warcraft Cataclysm Azeroth has been changed permanently in game even for players without the expansion set installed The corrupted Black Dragon Aspect Deathwing the Destroyer formerly Neltharion the Earth Warder has broken free from imprisonment in Deepholm part of the Elemental Plane and caused major changes and destruction in the land In addition many new parts of the continents of Azeroth that have previously been inaccessible have become key parts in the new world Lorewise this is the second major change to the face of Azeroth the first being the Sundering The Sundering was caused as a result of the War of the Ancients where demons of the Burning Legion invaded the ancient Kalimdor It caused a massive explosion that split the one continent into the four seen in game and created the Maelstrom World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria was the fourth expansion released and it focuses on the mythical and long forgotten lands of Pandaria a continent far to the south that has until now been shrouded in magical mists With both factions landing on Pandaria adventurers rediscover the ancient Pandaren people whose wisdom will help guide them to new destinies the Pandaren Empire s ancient enemy the Mantid and their legendary oppressors the enigmatic Mogu The storyline for Mists of Pandaria is split into multiple chapters The story arc that introduces Pandaria where players discover the continent and level up helping to solve problems and figure out what happened for the past 10 000 years and why was included entirely within the initial expansion release Later chapters in the storyline brought the war between the Horde and the Alliance back into focus including changing parts of Pandaria via phasing to show additional settlements and eventually returning the players back to Kalimdor for a final showdown dethroning Warchief Garrosh Hellscream World of Warcraft Legion was the sixth expansion released and it focuses on the Broken Isles a continent and group of islands located northeast of the Maelstrom in the middle of the Great Sea one of the islands contains the Tomb of the Dark Titan Sargeras The Burning Legion has started an invasion of Azeroth and the player characters must find powerful artifacts to stop the invasion Having thwarted the Burning Legion s attempts to invade Azeroth the players and other significant lore characters traveled to Argus the homeworld of the Burning Legion in order to end its threat While successful they couldn t stop Sargeras entirely Before being banished and imprisoned he thrust a magical sword into the surface of Azeroth leaving the planet wounded and bleeding a magical substance called Azerite World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth was the seventh expansion released and it focuses on the islands of Kul Tiras and Zandalar two islands which are home to their respective kingdoms This is the first expansion that introduces two new continents on initial release During this expansion the Horde and Alliance seek the aid of the kingdoms of Zandalar and Kul Tiras respectively for the reignited war between the factions Throughout campaigns on both continents adventurers learn the history of both kingdoms and uncover plots involving the Old Gods Events influenced by N Zoth and his followers lead to the discovery of the continents of Nazjatar the underwater kingdom of Azshara and Mechagon an island inhabited by the Mechagnomes The final patch of Battle for Azeroth takes players back to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Uldum to cure them of the corruption of N Zoth and ultimately face the Old God himself in his empire of Ny alotha The story of Battle for Azeroth is also the first time players are given choices that can have a significant impact on their own adventures One significant choice is whether to join the orc Varrok Saurfang in his rebellion against the Horde Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner Another choice that players are given is whether to become a servant of N Zoth Both choices lead to unique dialogue cinematics and quests depending on the choices made The ninth expansion World of Warcraft Dragonflight centers around the reappearance of the Dragon Isles home of the Dragons and their many aspects including the humanoid Dracthyr The various Dragon groups and subspecies are referred to as Dragonflights and are all descendants of the original proto dragons who chose to become empowered by the magic of a race of god like beings called the Titans The plot of Dragonflight deals with the awakening of the Dracthyr after 20 000 years in response to the threat of Raszageth the Storm Eater a Primalist proto dragon who seeks to separate the rest of her kind from the Dragonflights and retake Azeroth for themselves The Dracthyr are divided into two groups one that allies with the Alliance and one the Horde to deal with this threat Raszageth eventually falls to both groups but not before she releases her three siblings Fyrakk the Blazing Vyranoth the Frozenheart and Iridikron the Stoneheart Draenor Outland edit Draenor which is featured in Warcraft II Beyond the Dark Portal is the original homeland of the Orcs and past home of the Draenei Draenor was torn apart when the Orcish leader Ner Zhul later the first Lich King opened dozens of portals to other worlds in an attempt to escape the invading Alliance Armies from Azeroth The sheer number and combined power of the portals ripped Draenor into fragments and cast the remainder into the mysterious parallel dimension called the Twisting Nether Home of the Demons The remnants of the world are now known as Outland and feature in the last mission of the human campaign of Warcraft II Beyond the Dark Portal though without any actual terrain changes Warcraft III The Frozen Throne and more prominently in World of Warcraft The Burning Crusade 9 An intact Draenor is the main feature of the fifth World of Warcraft expansion Warlords of Draenor which takes place 35 years earlier in an alternate timeline Major races and factions edit The following races have been sorted into their respective factions The Alliance edit The Alliance has been present in some form in all Warcraft games In all three real time strategy games the Alliance are the protagonists of their campaign and are one of the two main protagonist factions in World of Warcraft They are also the primary antagonists of Warcraft and the orc campaigns in Warcraft II The Alliance began in Warcraft II when the human kingdoms and demihumans strategically united to fend off the conquering Horde Thus they are enemies to the Horde The Alliance has evolved over the course of the franchise losing allies and gaining new members but the Alliance has endured over the years They are united to uphold their common noble ideals and are bound together by a sense of brotherhood forged by all the battles they ve endured together The major races of the Alliance are the humans of Stormwind 42 the High Elves the Night Elves of Teldrassil 43 44 and the Dwarves of Ironforge 45 Other races who have joined or allied with the Alliance include the Gnomes of Gnomergan 46 the Draenei of Outland 47 the Worgens of Gilneas creatures that resemble hunched over werewolves and the Tushui Pandaren 48 The Alliance is led by a military commander who coordinates the military actions of all the races in the Alliance The title for this position depends on the rank of the individual e g Anduin Lothar was a knight and his title was Supreme Allied Commander Varian Wrynn is a king and his title is High King This title may require an aspect of diplomacy or has strong political clout as the other leaders can choose not to commit their forces to the commander if they dislike the commander s leadership Though how much forces and resources are contributed to the war effort is left to each individual leader s discretion when the military commander issues a call to arms all races of the Alliance are expected to contribute The Horde edit In the first two Warcraft games the Horde is made of the orcs under the command of the Burning Legion and are enemies of the human led Alliance The orcs attempt in both games to conquer the human kingdoms Eventually the Horde was defeated most of its leaders killed and the orcs placed in internment camps 49 50 The third Warcraft game Reign of Chaos details the orcs shaking off both the chains of the Alliance and the corruption of the Burning Legion The Horde expanded their ranks by forging alliances with the Blood Elves the Forsaken 51 the Goblins the Huojin Pandaren 48 the Tauren and the Trolls Reception editIn 1999 Next Generation listed Warcraft and Starcraft as number 32 on their Top 50 Games of All Time commenting that While Warcraft did not create the realtime strategy genre it made it appealing to a broad audience Warcraft II went on to refine the genre Easy to play nuanced in design a pleasure to look at and often a laugh riot Warcraft II was nearly perfect 52 References edit Blizzard s Warcraft Orcs and Humans Now Available Press Release Blizzard 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world Peckham Matt May 9 2013 The Inexorable Decline of World of Warcraft Time Archived from the original on March 1 2014 Retrieved February 7 2014 What we know so far about HearthStone Heroes of Warcraft WoW Insider Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved March 22 2013 Blizzard to announce new Hearthstone expansion on March 11 Digital Trends March 7 2016 Archived from the original on September 13 2018 Retrieved September 13 2018 Warcraft Arclight Rumble Revealed World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment May 3 2022 Retrieved August 4 2022 Huang Zheping Schreier Jason August 3 2022 Blizzard NetEase Scrap Warcraft Mobile Game After Financing Dispute Bloomberg News Bloomberg L P Retrieved August 3 2022 BlizzCon 2023 full live stream schedule and how to watch Digital Trends October 30 2023 Retrieved November 3 2023 Worldsoul saga announced Bing Retrieved January 13 2024 October 25 Release Date World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Blog Warcraftcardgame com Archived from the 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at the Wayback Machine The Hollywood Reporter January 30 2013 World of Warcraft drafts new scribe Archived February 13 2013 at the Wayback Machine Variety August 2 2012 Scoop Everything We Know About Duncan Jones Warcraft Film Archived August 20 2013 at the Wayback Machine bleedingcool com July 31 2013 McWhertor Michael July 20 2013 World of Warcraft movie teaser trailer shown at Comic Con Archived July 23 2013 at the Wayback Machine Polygon Retrieved 2013 07 20 Production Weekly Twitter Archived from the original on October 1 2013 Retrieved August 28 2013 Warcraft Official Trailer HD YouTube November 6 2015 Archived from the original on December 21 2021 a b From Warcraft III to Heroes of the Storm Talking Art and Blizzard s Long History with Samwise Didier AusGamers com www ausgamers com Archived from the original on August 6 2020 Retrieved September 11 2020 Heroes Of The Storm Proves That A New Warcraft Strategy Game Could Work Kotaku June 30 2015 Archived from the original on December 5 2020 Retrieved September 9 2020 Heroes of the Storm celebrates all things Warcraft with Echoes of Alterac Polygon June 4 2018 Archived from the original on July 16 2018 Retrieved July 16 2018 Prell Sam June 12 2018 Heroes of the Storm s Echoes of Alterac event may not be Warcraft 4 but it s the next best thing gamesradar Retrieved November 11 2021 Blizzard Music www blizzard com Archived from the original on October 8 2019 Retrieved September 21 2019 World of Warcraft Official Page Human Knaak Richard December 11 2007 War of the Ancients Pocket Books ISBN 978 1 4165 5203 1 Rob Baxter Bob Fitch Luke Johnson Seth Johnson Mur Lafferty Andrew Rowe 2005 World of Warcraft The Roleplaying Game Arthaus ISBN 1 58846 781 3 Know Your Lore Current Alliance politics the dwarves part one Know Your Lore Current Alliance politics the gnomes Archived from the original on September 26 2011 Retrieved March 21 2022 World of Warcraft Official Page Draenei a b MMO Champion Mists of Pandaria Press Tour Aaron Rosenburg Christie Golden 2008 Beyond the Dark Portal Pocket Books ISBN 978 1 4165 5086 0 Rosenburg Aaron August 28 2007 Tides of Darkness Pocket Books ISBN 978 1 4165 3990 2 World of Warcraft Official Site Forsaken Blizzard Entertainment accessed April 18 2011 Top 50 Games of All Time Next Generation No 50 Imagine Media February 1999 p 76 Further reading editGilliam Ryan November 11 2019 It s been a weird decade for Warcraft Polygon Archived from the original on November 12 2019 Retrieved November 13 2019 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Warcraft franchise Official World of Warcraft community site US Official World of Warcraft community site EU Warcraft on the Warcraft Wiki Portal nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Warcraft amp oldid 1204813935, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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