2020’s most disappointing games, as led by Blizzard’s WarCraft III: Reforged

Enlarge / Is there any chance WarCraft III: Reforged might receive another reforging this year? (credit: Aurich Lawson / Blizzard)

You may have heard that 2020 wasn't the greatest year—an issue we try not to belabor when covering the fun and escapism of video games at Ars Technica. But "disappointing" games are different than bad ones, especially at Ars, where we do our best to err on the side of caution and skepticism before a game is finished. In our case, when a game lets us down, especially during a year like the last one, the results sting that much more.

As the dust settled on 2020, one game—WarCraft III: Reforged—stood out as the year's most staggering and baffling disappointment. Unlike other obvious candidates for 2020's icky designation, it did so with a full 12 months of opportunity to right its own ship. So I'll focus on that game to start, then circle back on other bummers by article's end.

WarCraft III: Reforged: Customs violation

One of the gems of the early '00s PC real-time strategy era, WarCraft III, entered 2020 still buoyed by a devoted modding community and ladder-battling fanbase. It wasn't scorching the charts by any stretch, but WC3 continued to enjoy a hearty online population, largely fueled by a community's goodwill.

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