Warcraft
Fantasy franchise spanning games, novels, comics, and film.
Warcraft is a fantasy media franchise and video game series from Blizzard Entertainment. The core lineup includes seven titles: *Warcraft: Orcs & Humans* (1994), *Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness* (1995), *Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos* (2002), *Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne* (2003), *World of Warcraft* (2004), *Hearthstone* (2014), and *Warcraft Rumble* (2023). What began as a real-time strategy (RTS) series branched into other genres with *World of Warcraft*, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that proved highly influential. Beyond games, the franchise has expanded into novels, comics, a tabletop role-playing game, a trading card game, and a 2016 feature film.
Most of the action takes place on the planet Azeroth, along with related planets and metaphysical dimensions. Azeroth is home to familiar fantasy races—elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and trolls—alongside original creatures and races unique to the setting. The lore centers on conflict between the factions of Azeroth, chiefly the human-led Alliance and the orc-led Horde, following heroes and villains on both sides. Though rooted in high fantasy, the universe draws from science fiction and dark fantasy. Warcraft stands out by giving "monster races" like orcs, trolls, and undead complex roles, with significant character development and moral depth.
The franchise has been a major commercial success, generating over $12 billion in revenue and ranking among the highest-grossing media franchises ever. Critically, the first three Warcraft games are considered landmarks of the RTS genre, while *World of Warcraft* is widely regarded as the most popular and influential MMORPG of all time.
The first three games and their expansions launched on PC and Mac, all in the RTS genre. Each continued the storyline of its predecessor while introducing new features. Blizzard developer Sam Didier proposed the name "Warcraft"; co-founder Allen Adham said it was chosen because "it sounded super cool," with no deeper meaning. *Warcraft II* was the first in the series to offer online play via Battle.net, though this came with the 1999 *Battle.net Edition* (Battle.net itself launched earlier with *Diablo* in 1996). It was also the first to be re-released as a "Battle Chest" bundling the original and expansion. *Warcraft III* introduced the Collector's Edition, a practice continued for all subsequent games.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Warcraft
- Developer
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Creator
- Allen Adham / Frank Pearce / Michael Morhaime
- Platforms
- MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, iOS, Android
- Genre
- Real-time strategy, MMORPG, collectible card game
- First Release Version
- Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
- First Release Date
- November 15, 1994
- Latest Release Version
- Warcraft Rumble
- Latest Release Date
- November 3, 2023
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The franchise is primarily set on the planet Azeroth, as well as related planets and metaphysical dimensions. Azeroth is inhabited by various races and civilizations, including typical fantasy races such as elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and trolls, along with original races and creatures unique to the franchise. Its lore and story center on warfare between the races and factions of Azeroth, typically between the human-led Alliance and the orc-led Horde, chronicling the exploits of heroes and villains on both sides. While high fantasy at its core, the Warcraft universe incorporates a diverse assortment of influences, including science fiction and dark fantasy. Warcraft has been noted as differentiating itself from other fantasy universes by highlighting 'monster races' such as orcs, trolls, and undead as complex protagonists and giving them significant character development and moral complexity.
Reader's Guide
The Warcraft franchise has been highly successful, grossing over $12 billion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The games have been critically acclaimed: the first three Warcraft games are considered landmarks of the RTS genre, while World of Warcraft is regarded as the most popular and influential MMORPG of all time. The series began as a real-time strategy series and expanded into other genres with World of Warcraft in 2004. World of Warcraft gained popularity worldwide, becoming the world's largest subscription-based MMORPG in 2008, reaching a peak 12 million subscribers worldwide in October 2010. The franchise has also spawned numerous novels, comics, a tabletop role-playing game, a trading card game, and a 2016 feature film. In 2022, Blizzard announced a new Warcraft free-to-play mobile game called Warcraft Arclight Rumble, later released as Warcraft Rumble in November 2023. As of 2024, World of Warcraft has had ten expansions, with two more announced. In September 2024, it was reported that there were several talks about making Warcraft 4 but due to the poor reception of Warcraft III: Reforged, Blizzard executives turned down the idea.
Did You Know?
- The name 'Warcraft' was proposed by Blizzard developer Sam Didier and chosen because 'it sounded super cool'.
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness was the first game in the series to feature play over the internet using Battle.net.
- An adventure game, Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, was announced and canceled in 1998.
- In 2022, Blizzard and NetEase cancelled an unannounced World of Warcraft mobile spin-off game.
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