A new Warcraft game comes out on PC today, but there’s a twist

Although the franchise has long outgrown its RTS roots, Warcraft still occasionally likes to yield some strategic fruit. There was that redux of Warcraft 3 in 2020, and 2023 saw the launch of Warcraft Rumble on mobile. While World of Warcraft rolls on with Cataclysm Classic, The War Within, and the upcoming return of Mists of Pandaria, if you’ve avoided the tower-defense spin-off so far, it’s now available on PC.

Warcraft Rumble arrived a little over a year ago, in November 2023. It’s a free strategy game and autobattler where you command an army against an opponent, gradually accruing gold to power your efforts.

The broad strokes of tower defense, in the vein of Orcs Must Die! 2 and Plants vs Zombies 2, are clear. Combined with the bright colors and simplified visuals, Warcraft Rumble is a multiplayer game that’s aimed at being a distraction for hardcore Azeroth residents and casual passersby.

The fantasy game must be doing something right, because it just came out on PC. So, if you want a less intensive way to visit Kalimdor, you can do so either alone or against others. It’s a co-op game too, if you want to buddy up and take on the masses.

But what of Warcraft’s RTS lineage? The last strategy release in the franchise was 2020’s Warcraft 3: Reforged, a remake of the iconic and beloved third mainline game, Reign of Chaos. The core gameplay was still intact, but promised features weren’t included, bizarre changes were made such as a slightly interminable UI, and it was buggy.

Warcraft Rumble might not be quite the comprehensive and glorious return to Warcraft’s RTS game roots that we’ve long been hoping for, but nevertheless, it’s a neat little addition to the series and a helpful distraction in between big WoW raids.

Warcraft Rumble is out now on PC. At least World of Warcraft is still going strong. Player housing has finally been added, and The War Within is a bold new chapter for the MMORPG titan. Have a look at our guide to the best WoW addons for all the essentials you should include on your questing.

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