Warcraft 3: Reforged's 2.0 patch temporarily blocked access to the original RTS, with players who've owned the classic version for decades told that their license isn't valid

Key art for Warcraft 3: Reforged.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Warcraft 3: Reforged was supposed to get a second chance earlier this week with the launch of version 2.0 – a major patch that seemingly had the opportunity to revitalize the real-time strategy remaster that was heavily criticized when it launched in 2020. However, a major bug might have ended up frustrating original Warcraft 3 fans about its existence even more. 

As highlighted across Reddit and the Blizzard Forums, many players of the classic game reported that after the release of Reforged 2.0, they could no longer access the 2002 version. "Multiple people, including myself, being hit with a menu saying 'This account does not have a valid Warcraft 3 License. Click here to purchase one' and the link takes you to the page to buy Warcraft 3 Reforged," one writes

Others shared similar tales, with one saying that "the CD [keys] of WC3 [Reign of Chaos] and [The Frozen Throne] have been on my account since forever," and another noting that they've "owned the original game for almost 20 years," and never needed to pay for Reforged to continue playing it with its classic visuals. "Surely this is a bug, and not Blizzard's way of telling me that I'm no longer able to do so, right?" they question.

Thankfully, they're exactly right, as Blizzard acknowledged the problem on Twitter before long: "Our Warcraft 3 European servers are running into some login issues. We're also aware of players who have original Warcraft and are unable to log in," it explains. "We're working on a fix for these issues."

Perhaps it's because launching the original Warcraft 3 requires the Reforged client, allowing a problem to seemingly spread from the new version to the old one, but regardless, it mercifully seems that the situation has since improved, with some now saying that it's been fixed and they can "play without any problems." Either way, even temporarily making an enemy of the classic fans isn't exactly a great start for Reforged 2.0 – here's hoping that that's the end of its problems.

RTS classics Warcraft and Warcraft 2 surprise drop remasters with "brand new, hand-drawn visuals" that you can swap in and out in real-time.

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Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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