Mismanagement and cut costs doomed Warcraft 3: Reforged, a new report finds

warcraft 3 reforged
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Warcraft 3 Reforged's underwhelming release was the result of budget cuts, mismanagement, and internal disputes, a recently-released report from Bloomberg has found.

Released last February, Reforged arrived in a shocking state. Not only was the remake missing many of the planned grand, sweeping updates to the game's art and voiceover, but it retroactively ruined the original 2002 Warcraft 3—wholesale replacing its online service with one lacking basic features like competitive ladders.

In the new report, sources write that Warcraft 3 suffered from constant instances of miscommunication and financial pressures. Planned improvements were scrapped as the game was rescoped. Arguments flared over the game's art style and scope. The head of Blizzard's Classic Games team, Rob Bridenbecker, was accused of having an "aggressive management style", as well as frequently taking trips out of the country during production.

“We have developers who have dealt with exhaustion, anxiety, depression and more for a year now," developers wrote in an internal post-mortem obtained by Bloomberg. "Many have lost trust in the team and this company. Many players have also lost trust, and the launch certainly didn't help an already rough year for Blizzard's image." 

Reforged also faced pressures from corporate owners Activision, which didn't prioritise a throwback RTS with little hope of becoming a blockbuster success. Mass layoffs across the company in 2019 didn't help, and with pre-orders opening long before the game was complete, the team was constantly having to "resist the urge to ship an unfinished product because of financial pressure."

"We took pre-orders when we knew the game wasn't ready yet," a post-mortem writer explained.

The report goes further into how the Classic Games team was largely maligned by Blizzard, and how management at Blizzard was "out of touch" with the project until extremely late in development. But the report ultimately blames Activision's increasing influence over Blizzard post-merger, pushing the developer to focus only on its stable of billion-dollar games like World of Warcraft and Overwatch.

This report comes hot on the heels of a lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing accusing the publisher of a "frat boy workplace culture" that saw women paid demonstrably less than their male colleagues and subjected them to "constant sexual harassment".

Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.

Read more
CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, speaks onstage during "Managing Excellence: Getting Consistently Great Results" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
Bobby Kotick reckons the Warcraft film was 'a terrible idea' for Blizzard, and in the end 'was one of the worst movies I've ever seen'
Bobby Kotick in 2008, after the Vivendi merger that made Activision into Activision Blizzard.
Bobby Kotick says he'd never have raised World of Warcraft's subscription by even a dollar because 'it's a prickly audience, you don't wanna do too much to agitate them'
Orc man looking pensively at camera
Former EA exec says the ailing mega-publisher missed a chance to snag Blizzard and other heavy hitters before Activision: 'EA saw all those first and passed on all of them'
Lucanis enjoying a cup of coffee
'On a pirate ship, they'd toss the captain overboard': Larian head of publishing tears into EA after BioWare layoffs waste 'institutional knowledge'
The Veilguard - Neve grimaces and uses magic to fend off a magical punch
It sure sounds like Electronic Arts thinks cutting Dragon Age: The Veilguard's live service components was a mistake
Manfred clenching his fists
EA has learned all the wrong lessons from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and it's going to be disastrous for the future of Mass Effect 5—if it even has a future
Latest in Strategy
Mongolian throne room
Crusader Kings 3 saddles up for a long-awaited return to the east with its first Asian DLC, Khans of the Steppe
Manor Lords promo art - knight on horseback looking at a medieval village in the distance, viewed from behind
PCG's best city builder of 2024 is adding a map with a gigantic hill in the middle: the perfect spot for your next castle
Maximillian from Evil Genius 2
Rebellion CEO says Evil Genius 3 could happen but wonders 'what else could we do with it other than a base-building game?'
A city from 1800
One of the best city builders of the last decade is currently 90% off on Steam
Company of Heroes 3
Company of Heroes 3 is free to try and 50% off, so it's the best time to check out the beefy 2.0 overhaul
People swimming in a pool and lying on floats
Planet Coaster 2's spring roadmap splashes down, with 'round-bottomed flumes' coming in March and buildable restaurants arriving in April
Latest in News
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close