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General discussion<b>Warcraft 1+2 will be delisted from GOG—what does this mean in regard to the GOG Preservation Program?</b>(452 posts)(452 posts)
(452 posts)
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Posted December 02, 2024
Hello GOG Community,

We have some heart-breaking news to share: Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft II will be leaving the GOG store on December 13th, 2024.

As many of you know, at GOG, we believe that games should live forever. It’s not just about preserving them—it’s about making sure these timeless classics remain accessible, updated, and playable on modern systems. That’s exactly what the GOG Preservation Program was created for. But, even with our best efforts and dedication to game preservation, sometimes things don’t go as we’d hoped.

Seeing these masterpieces leave our store is tough, but it also serves as another reminder of why our mission at GOG is so important. With that in mind, we’ve decided to update one aspect of the GOG Preservation Program’s policy:

Going forward, even if a game is no longer available for sale on GOG, as part of the GOG Preservation Program, it will continue to be maintained and updated by us, ensuring it remains compatible with modern and future systems.

We're incredibly proud of our work on both Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft II, bringing them back to life after decades of unavailability and introducing several improvements to ensure the best possible experience, as close to the original as possible.

Although we’ll soon no longer be able to offer these games in our store, anyone who purchased them before they were removed will still enjoy the most compatible, high-quality versions, guaranteed by the GOG Preservation Program.

And because GOG is DRM-free, you’ll have lifetime access to your Offline Installers. That means, even though these games are being delisted, you’ll still have them safely stored in your library forever, ready to play whenever you want. This is what these titles—and you as gamers—deserve.

To all of you who support our mission of preserving video game history—thank you. It’s not just about the games themselves; it’s about the journey we’ve all shared as gamers. We’re honored to continue this journey with you.

With appreciation,
The GOG Team

Please note:
If you want to buy the Warcraft I & II Bundle and keep them forever in your library, you can use the checkout code: MakeWarcraftLiveForever

The discount code works on 2 USD, 2 EUR, 1.5 GBP, or 8 PLN off, only on the Warcraft I & II Bundle, when entered at the checkout. The code works only for the listed currencies, which – if at a different location – can be easily changed at the bottom of our page.

Each user can only use the code once.
Posted December 02, 2024
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00063: Hahaha... there goes GoGs preservation program! Making games last forever. Emphasis was on "forever" in your marketing phrase.

As for Blizzard: "Piracy is a service problem"
- Gabe Newell

I'll leave it at that.
Why, because of two games?
They will be preserved for everyone that got them before delisting and as stated in the above post maintained as a part of the program, even after that they could "hypothetically" be shared to further that goal.
Everyone knew this was an uphill battle, better to have tried and done your best than left it all to rot.
Posted December 02, 2024
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Well one thing with GOG keeping updating the game to be future proof for those who bought it thats great. Good luck to anyone buying the remasters that will be ignored by Blizzard in the future.
Posted December 02, 2024
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Regardless of the remasters. These are still the definitive editions of WC1 & WC2. Sad to see them go, but not surprising.
Posted December 02, 2024
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00063: Hahaha... there goes GoGs preservation program! Making games last forever. Emphasis was on "forever" in your marketing phrase.

As for Blizzard: "Piracy is a service problem"
- Gabe Newell

I'll leave it at that.
Now, we make them live forever :) And that holds true - they are preserved in libraries of everyone has them from GOG (and still can get them) + you can always back up your Offline Installers + we'll make them live, because as we've mentioned in the announcement, we decided to commit to maintain and update every game in the Program, even if it's no longer available for sale on the platform.
Posted December 02, 2024
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While I'm pretty good with WC1 and WC2 (I've got both the WC1+WC2 and the WC2 Battle.Net Battle Chests from back in the day, plus the GOG releases, and I'll never forget what they are), what I'd really like to see preserved more generally is the store pages, with all the descriptions, screenshots, and "use this mod to fix the flaws-by-design" reviews.
Posted December 02, 2024
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petravonkant: I expect a similar news post about Sony's GOG releases in the near future. These huge corporations experimented with DRM-free releases of older games, concluded they're not profitable enough to continue, and are now going all in on over-priced re-masters exclusive to data-gathering launchers and walled-garden storefronts.
It's the same story as with Ubisoft and their launcher after a few years of declining sales they came crawling back to Steam.
Now Sony is doing almost the same thing with PSN on Steam and people are pushing back hard.
Horizon Zero Dawn had horrible sales, the Lego version is a fiasco, Until Dawn isn't selling and the crown on top of all that is Concord.
Let's see how long they will persist.

I don't care how good a game they can make, Sony gets hacked almost annually.
Why even bother?
Posted December 02, 2024
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ssokolow: While I'm pretty good with WC1 and WC2 (I've got both the WC1+WC2 and the WC2 Battle.Net Battle Chests from back in the day, plus the GOG releases, and I'll never forget what they are), what I'd really like to see preserved more generally is the store pages, with all the descriptions, screenshots, and "use this mod to fix the flaws-by-design" reviews.
It's something more difficult than it seems, but it's definitely something we're looking at.
Posted December 02, 2024
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Delisting on Friday 13th? I guess someone at MS/Blizzard really wanted to make a point of this move.
Posted December 02, 2024
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ssokolow: While I'm pretty good with WC1 and WC2 (I've got both the WC1+WC2 and the WC2 Battle.Net Battle Chests from back in the day, plus the GOG releases, and I'll never forget what they are), what I'd really like to see preserved more generally is the store pages, with all the descriptions, screenshots, and "use this mod to fix the flaws-by-design" reviews.
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king_kunat: It's something more difficult than it seems, but it's definitely something we're looking at.
Oh, yes, please. Not sure why it has to be difficult, but please do that.
Posted December 02, 2024
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DodoGeo: Why, because of two games?
They will be preserved for everyone that got them before delisting and as stated in the above post maintained as a part of the program, even after that they could "hypothetically" be shared to further that goal.
Everyone knew this was an uphill battle, better to have tried and done your best than left it all to rot.
Listen, GoG made a stupid ass statement about how they'll make games last forever not that long ago (breaking a few games in the process but that doesn't really matter here). And now they are delisting the very games that are a part of that program, and worse is that these aren't some no name showelvare indies but truly iconic games.

Why?

Because developers/publishers SAID SO!
And gog has zero influence on that, so they effectively lied and the preservation program was nothing more then a false advertisement. They made a promise they couldn't keep and it wasn't the first time, DRM-free (90%=100%), curation, optional client...

Also what's next, ubisoft waking up and realizing they forgot to delist HoMM games?
Post edited December 02, 2024 by 00063
Posted December 02, 2024
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Well, B/A/MS, and you top dogs EA, Ubi and co. you can continue to trample on your company history, because it wasn't you guys in the tie who created these classics (and you don't give a damn), but rather talented artists and programmers with a love of games in their blood.

So keep it up, but I'm not buying all your remakes, remasters, disasters - crap anyway. Nor will I buy your lovelessly thrown together umpteenth clone of your IPs. I'll continue to play the classics and indies and do without the empty, glossy AAA+ without soul.
Posted December 02, 2024
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So the absolute fucking dunces at Blizzard finally did it. As soon as they announced their cheap remaster that looked like a Chinese knock-off mobile game, I figured the other shoe would drop. It's a damn shame since I would've loved to see Warcraft III, Starcraft, and Diablo II, but hey - at least the retail versions for those games still work, unfettered by modern Blizzard's nonsense.

So at least for Warcraft I and II and Diablo - thank you, GOG, for giving us the best release these games will ever get. And once again, this highlights exactly why DRM-free is important - as much as they might want to, Blizzard can't memory hole what we already own.
Posted December 02, 2024
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king_kunat: Now, we make them live forever :) And that holds true - they are preserved in libraries of everyone has them from GOG (and still can get them) + you can always back up your Offline Installers + we'll make them live, because as we've mentioned in the announcement, we decided to commit to maintain and update every game in the Program, even if it's no longer available for sale on the platform.
Fair enough, but still, what if you decide to buy 10 years later? you really don't have that option do you? or will they get relisted or something...
Posted December 02, 2024
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i have a long history of not buying blizzard games.

they don't much care for their customers and have said so time and time again.

bearing that in mind, i do not have much care for them in this modern era.

if their stance is to delist the old game to sell the new remaster of it, [and it's telling that blizzard - who could tell gog this - haven't assured gog that the remasters will be for sale here, which sends a very strong signal] then that just further cements my distaste for them that has only grown over the years.

while it is "big corporation doing big corporation things," they're clearly telegraphing a lot more than they're letting on.

my prediction is: no more blizzard games on gog from microsoft.

[i guess i'll have to check back on this statement in about a year or so, after the warcraft remaster is sold elsewhere, but perhaps not here.]

---

none of this is surprising, really, given that it is blizzard and that blizzard has such disdain for their customer base. it's just sad [for the customers] and frustrating [again, for the customers.]

---

also, hey microsoft. i understand you're not going to read this and that's absolutely ok, but...

a) your delisting isn't making me more interested in buying this because you're delisting it and relying on my fomo.

b) keeping BOTH the remaster AND the original for sale gets you DOUBLE MONEY. i understand that you only see things in dollar symbols, so i'll slow down and explain just for you: some people will buy the remaster. some people will buy the original. both lots of people will give you money. since money is all that matters, you'll have more money. qed.

c) i understand that you're living in a time of bad will toward your company. enjoy some more of that.

[though i know you only care about your shareholders.]
Post edited December 02, 2024 by lostwolfe
Posted December 02, 2024
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Pass! Not a Cent for those greedy bastards.

Come on! We didn't play WarCraft back in the 1990s because it was awesome. It never was.

We played it because it was all we had, particularly in Multiplayer. What made WarCraft awesome was the other kids we played it with, and the thrill of misappropriating the school network for the purpose.

You can't "remaster" that experience.

It was the LAN parties. Hauling your heavy 133MHz desktop machine around with that bulky CRT. Fiddling with the network cables, and "terminators", and network settings. Drawing the curtains and forgetting about whether it was night or day, until your friend's cat clawed your toe at 6AM because it was annoyed that we wouldn't let it sleep. Nobody realized we all had been awake for 48h before our parents came to pick us up, at 4PM on a Sunday afternoon. That's what it meant to experience "WarCraft".

No, you can't "remaster" that, sorry.

And even then, we only played WarCraft out of necessity and convenience. Because we needed just one "legal" copy on our LAN, and everybody else on the network could play for free. And, unlike most other titles, WarCraft was stable, when almost any other strategy title kept crashing during multiplayer or had terrible sync problems. We tried a number of different games and none worked.

We never "loved" WarCraft; we loved that it didn't desync on us in the middle of a 2-hour multiplayer session.

So, take it! Burn it for all I care. Put it where all those network cables and terminators went. Feel free.

For you can't remaster an era, and neither should you.

Meanwhile, for those of use who just want to relive the single player campaign there is a perfectly fine alternative: "Loria" right here on GOG provides modern graphics, overhauled UI, updated AI, and it's 100% free.

And as far as Blizzard is concerned: Screw you, you greedy bastards!

Last words to GOG: You guys are awesome. Thanks for keeping the originals alive, and keep up the good work!
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Community
General discussion<b>Warcraft 1+2 will be delisted from GOG—what does this mean in regard to the GOG Preservation Program?</b>(452 posts)(452 posts)
(452 posts)