To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise, Blizzard Entertainment and Microsoft hosted a Warcraft Direct on November 13, 2024. The event didn’t contain any earth-shattering announcements, but it still had a few tidbits of exciting news. Blizzard unveiled a new expansion for World of Warcraft called Midnight, revealed the next big update for World of Warcraft: The War Within, and confirmed that the mobile game Warcraft Rumble was coming to PC, among other things. Perhaps the most noteworthy reveals from the Warcraft Direct were the Warcraft 1 and 2 remasters, which Blizzard shadow-dropped on the day of the event.
Warcraft 1: Remastered costs just $10 on Battle.net, but its sequel, Warcraft 2: Remastered, is $15. While both games can be purchased individually, they can also be bought together in the $40 Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest bundle, which includes a copy of Warcraft 3: Reforged. Although these remasters don’t differ that much from their original counterparts, they do come with some significant upgrades. Not only do they feature updated visuals and improved UIs, but they also include new quality-of-life features and modernized controls. Overall, the Warcraft 1 and 2 remasters are great, but their existence brings into question why Diablo 1 hasn’t gotten a remaster as well.
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The First Diablo Game Should Get a Remaster, Just Like Warcraft 1 and 2 Did
Diablo 1 is One of the Most Influential Action RPGs Ever Made, But It Isn’t Easily Accessible
There are a lot of great top-down dungeon crawlers out there, but few of them have ever had as big of an impact on the video game industry as the original Diablo. Released for Windows PC in January 1997 and developed by Blizzard North, Diablo 1 was one of the first isometric action RPGs to really break into the mainstream. It garnered near-universal accolades from critics and was frequently mentioned in many “best games of all time” lists during the 90s. On top of that, it greatly exceeded Blizzard’s modest sales expectations. In the United States alone, the game sold approximately 1.17 million units by November 1999. Worldwide, on the other hand, Diablo passed the 2.5 million sales threshold by the early 2000s.
Considering it played a pivotal role in gaming history, it’s odd that the first Diablo isn’t available on modern platforms. While the hit action RPG was ported to Mac OS and PlayStation 1 in 1998, it never made its way to other systems. Every other mainline Diablo game is readily accessible on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, so it is really unfortunate that the first installment in the series is missing on the current-gen consoles. If Blizzard ever does port Diablo 1 to modern devices, though, it should consider remastering the game by giving it a few touch-ups, specifically in the graphics and gameplay departments.
Since Blizzard Has Remastered Some of Its Other Games, a Diablo 1 Remaster Makes Sense
Blizzard has already remastered several of its classic titles over the last few years. In addition to the aformentioned Warcraft 1 and 2 remasters, the company released a remaster of the sci-fi RTS game StarCraft for Windows PCs in 2017, which featured improved sound effects, 4K resolution support, and modern multiplayer functionality. Later on, in 2021, it launched Diablo 2: Resurrected, a re-release of the second entry in the Diablo series that was ported to all modern platforms, including the Nintendo Switch.
Diablo 2: Resurrected had some server issues at launch, but for the most part, it was a solid remaster, just as good if not better than the Warcraft 1 and 2 re-releases. Therefore, if Diablo 1 receives the same treatment that Diablo 2 did in a hypothetical remaster, it will be a dream come true, especially if it has 3D models, improved controls, ultra-high resolutions, and enhanced audio. Having the ability to toggle between new and old graphics in such a re-release will be a nice feature to have, too.
Blizzard
- Date Founded
- February 8, 1991
- Headquarters
- Irvine, California, United States
- CEO
- Bobby Kotick
- Parent Company
- activision blizzard