Blizzard has been said to have taken a blunt hammer to quell any noise following the controversial release of Warcraft 3: Reforged.
According to Reddit earlier today, users trying to help others refund Warcraft 3: Reforged are being banned from the official forums. In all fairness, some users did cross the toxicity line and were banned accordingly. However, several sources have come forward to confirm that players just trying to find the refund option were flagged by Blizzard for no reason at all. Additional reports also suggest that players are being silenced for criticizing the game without resorting to profanity.
Warcraft 3: Reforged was released just yesterday and was blasted by players for being a significant graphical downgrade compared to what Blizzard previously had shown. In some instances, the textures used actually look less detailed and hazy when put against the original. Certain cutscenes look even less polished. There are missing assets, dumbed-down animations, and then there are the bugs.
Despite earlier testing, Warcraft 3: Reforged is facing performance issues at launch. The multiplayer mode is not working for some. The game has a tendency to crash. Worst of all, players have reported frame-rate stuttering as well.
For whatever reason, Blizzard also stripped Warcraft 3: Reforged off features that were there with the original. The list includes profiles, ladders, clans, chat commands, animated portraits and campaign backgrounds, automated tournaments, and more; all of which have been removed.
While Warcraft 3: Reforged was never supposed to be a remake, Blizzard had raised expectations by showing a beautifully remastered version of the game. The developer has gone dark for the time being, and tempers are flaring among players. Blizzard needs to make a statement to put things right.
It’s unfortunate to see Blizzard land itself into another mess. The company was only recently being hammered for the Blitzchung-Hong Kong protest incident. Back in October, Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai, who hails from Hong Kong, called for the liberation of his country in a post-match winning interview. Blizzard decided to not only ban him but also take away his winnings. The decision put the company in hot waters with the community, ultimately forcing out an apology.
