Today marks the 30th anniversary of Blizzard Studios’ most iconic and historic franchise, Warcraft. To celebrate this momentous occasion, an hour long presentation was held, full of updates and announcements related to Warcraft in it’s many forms. From WoW to Hearthstone, shadow drops to future expansions, there is bound to be something to get every Warcraft fan excited!
Warcraft I and 2 Remastered
Kicking off the direct with a nostalgic bang, Blizzard announced the (already partially leaked) remasters of Warcraft 1 and 2, with the second instalment including multiplayer. Warcraft III: Reforged will also be receiving a facelift, with quality of life adjustments and a graphical update similar to the prequels.
The best part is that they have been shadow dropped today as a war chest, allowing for flexible purchasing if players already own some of the titles.
The War Within: Undermine(d) Update
Undermine(d) is the Season 2 update for the current expansion of World of Warcraft: The War Within. Players can look forward to a new zone, the underground goblin capital Undermine, along with a new raid, a new dungeon, a new arena, two new delves, a customisable vehicle to traverse Undermine, and more!
World of Warcraft: Midnight
To close out the show with “one more thing”, Blizzard surprised everyone with a teaser trailer for the next WoW expansion. With Midnight a fair way off, most likely 2026, details of the expansion will be shared later in the year. But Blizzard did confirm a much requested feature would be added as part of the Midnight expansion: player housing.
There is a lot planned for the world’s most popular MMO over the next year, far more than I have covered here. Thankfully, the good people at Blizzard released a lovely roadmap to keep track of all the WoW goodness!
Mists of Pandaria Classic
The World of Warcraft Classic series marches on, returning to the Mists of Pandaria. But that’s not all! Along with continuing to remaster each expansion, Blizzard will be opening up a batch of new servers for WoW Classic this November 21st. They will follow the cadence of updates the game received originally, and eventually will roll into The Burning Crusade to start the process anew.
Rumble on PC
The announcements continued with Blizzard’s mobile spin-off Warcraft Rumble making its way to PC, with a Beta starting on December 10th. As part of an update Rumble will have split faction leaders, able to be part of two different families. Orgrim Doomhammer, Malfurion Stormrage, and Anub'arak are some of these split faction leaders to be added.
Hearthstone x Starcraft
Blizzard’s card-battler Hearthstone is also set to have a big 2025! The new year will start with a crossover min set based on Blizzard’s other beloved RTS franchise, Starcraft. Including the three factions, Protoss, Zerg, and Terran, each will come with unique powers and themes.
This mini set will be followed by two expansions themed around the Emerald Dream and the Shrouded City respectively. Hearthstone will close out 2025 with The Heroes of Time expansion, starring Chromie!
Those are the big announcements from the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, but you can click here to watch it yourselves!
I would be lying if I didn’t admit to feel the pull to return to World of Warcraft, and right now seems like a pretty good time to join back with the Horde (sorry Alliance gang)!
What announcements got you excited for the future of Warcraft?
