GOG will be delisting Warcraft 1 and 2 from their store following a request from Blizzard, but promise to offer continued support.
Today brings both good and bad news for Warcraft 1 and 2 players. The sad news is that GOG will be delisting both games from their store, due to Blizzard’s request. The good news is that both games are part of GOG’s preservation program, ensuring ongoing support for customers who bought them from the GOG site. Blizzard made their request a month after releasing the remastered versions of the two games, which was a smart business move.
The CD Projekt-owned storefront announced the two games will be delisted on December 13 “at the publisher’s request.” Those who own them through GOG can still expect “a seamless experience and tech support” that will preserve “their experiences for years to come,” both games are currently still in the store as of writing this. In addition to the sudden announcement, GOG will also be giving fans who do not own Warcraft 1 and 2 a discount code for the games. Users who enter “MakeWarcraftLiveForever” will be able to get a $2 or equivalent price reduction on the bundle containing both (otherwise priced at $14.99).
Blizzard currently has Warcraft 1 and 2 listed on Battle.net for $9.99 and $14.99 respectively. The original versions of both games are also still available to purchase for $5.99 and $9.99 respectively too. The GOG Preservation Program was announced last month to ensure many beloved games will continue to receive guaranteed support over time, even if the game is delisted from their store. This includes hundreds of games like Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings, Resident Evil and more.
“Once a game joins the program, we pledge to maintain its compatibility even if it gets delisted from the store,” GOG said. “This means that owners of those titles can still expect a seamless experience and tech support for those titles. This also considers potential changes in Windows OS that may impact games’ playability,” GOG’s Preservation Program noted.
Game preservation has been a growing concern for gamers lately, as some games get delisted and lose continued support—resulting in the game no longer working. The latest incident was with The Crew, where Ubisoft removed the game from all stores and took it offline in March. The game, which was only playable online, had been around since 2014. Now, the game can no longer be played at all.
Even single-player games are being threatened. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, for example, is a purely single-player game that launched only partly on disc. It otherwise required a download for the complete game, and therefore its physical version cannot exist without an internet connection. GOG hopes to have hundreds more games under its Preservation Program by the end of 2025, but must evaluate each game’s quality thoroughly before adding it to the program.
