Blizzard Launches Public Test Realm for 'Warcraft 3,' Remaster Coming Soon?
It has been more than a decade since "Warcraft 3" received any love from developer Blizzard Entertainment. Now, it seems that they are dusting off the old real-time strategy game with the launch of its first official Public Test Realm (PTR).
In a post on their official forums, Blizzard announced the specifics of "Warcraft 3's" PTR to gamers. It details balance changes for start locations, the difficulty of creep camps and adjustments to item diversity.
A number of improvements have been added as well, such as new textures for map clarity. The post also highlights some issues that Blizzard has identified and are still trying to fix with improvements on matchmaking and latency to be updated in the future.
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Many are already pointing out that this could be a prelude to the game's remastered version being released along with a remastered version of Blizzard's hit dungeon-crawler, "Diablo 2."
Just a few months ago, a job listing for a Senior Software Engineer surfaced suggesting that the developer might be looking to remaster its older games.
According to the post, the evolving technology has made "StarCraft," "Warcraft 3" and "Diablo 2" harder to experience for gamers. However, it is the final sentence that provides hints of what's to come.
"We're restoring them to glory, and we need your engineering talents, your passion, and your ability to get tough jobs done," the listing reads.
Aside from the Senior Software Engineer job offering, there are also listings for backend engineering jobs. Moreover, a job ad for a UI/UX Designer seems to suggest that the game's menu will also receive an overhaul.
With "StarCraft: Remastered" being released this week, it is very likely that the next two games will follow eventually. The launch of the PTR seemingly cements this and with the amount of hype "SCR" received prior to launch, it would be a disservice to fans if Blizzard stops at just one game.
Despite the real-time strategy games being surpassed by the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre, there are still "Warcraft 3" fans that cherish their memories of playing the game. Even if releasing a remastered version won't break any sales records, the nostalgia factor is still enough for Blizzard to make a profit.
