Warcraft 3: Reforged has undergone a significant change, now requiring a persistent internet connection for all players, even those not purchasing the newly released "The Forsaken Kingdom" campaign. This update, which also removes the game's LAN mode, has drawn criticism from a segment of the player base who prefer offline play or local multiplayer without internet access.
Blizzard senior manager Brad Chan and game director Ion Hazzikostas addressed the change in an interview, explaining that the shift is a consequence of necessary networking updates to support the game's global matchmaking infrastructure. "In order to actually build out the infrastructure to support all those networking connections, the game has to be online only," Chan stated. He elaborated that the game's architecture, particularly with the addition of new content and expanded server locations for better global ping, necessitates constant communication between the game, Battle.net, and cloud services.
Chan described the process as laying out server technical infrastructure that allows these systems to communicate. He explained that modifying the game's core components to support offline play alongside these new online features would require duplicating or building a separate infrastructure, which was deemed a less efficient use of resources compared to serving the majority of players. "Ultimately, it comes down to not a question of literal impossibility, but resource prioritization and trying to serve the majority of our players as best we can," Chan said.
For players who wish to play Warcraft 3 offline, Chan directed them to the classic client. However, this client does not support the new content, such as "The Forsaken Kingdom." When questioned about the move away from Warcraft 3's historical strength as a LAN party game, Chan reframed the concept as having "gone global," emphasizing that the updated infrastructure aims to allow players worldwide to connect with better performance and security.
Hazzikostas further explained that transitioning from preserving an older game to adding new content requires different technical decisions. "When you shift from curation and preservation of an old game to adding to it, to building new experiences, you often have to make new pipeline decisions," he noted. He added that committing to a specific network architecture and development pipeline is necessary for the agility required to create new features. This approach, he suggested, involves making trade-offs to best serve the majority of players with new offerings, rather than duplicating work that would slow down development for everyone.