Warcraft 3: Reforged has gotten off to a rocky start, and Blizzard appears to be trying to fix some of the problems plaguing the RTS remaster. Of course, fixing those issues will go a long way toward regaining the trust of fans, as the overall Blizzard response so far has been rather hit or miss. 

In the spirit of that, the game has received a 2.2GB patch with some improvements over Reforged's release state, including some animation adjustments for cutscenes and in-game units, bug fixes, and further distinctions between the Classic and Reforged versions.

Read the full patch notes below:

Campaign

• Players should no longer be met with a “defeat” screen after loading into a mission.
• Audio levels for some dialogue have been adjusted.
• The animations, triggers, and cameras for some cutscenes have been tweaked.
• Disconnecting or logging out will no longer change the save file folder.
• Fixed a number of issues that would block progression or not give credit for completing missions.
  • Developer’s note: Updating a map for these types of fixes invalidates prior saves. This is similar to how replays from prior game client versions no longer work. Campaign progress will not be lost.

Custom Games

• Multiboards should no longer crash custom games.
• Joining lobbies for the same map no longer creates duplicate versions of the map.
  • Developer’s note: This also resolves disconnects from improper map names.

Gameplay

• The rendering of Classic mode has been updated.
• Resolved an issue with hitching when constructing buildings or training units for the first time.
• Fixed Ziggurat upgrade animation in Reforged mode.
• Adjusted animations and portraits for multiple units and buildings.
• Units completing training while off-screen again have voices.
• Starting locations are again obscured by the fog of war.

Interface

• Whispers now include the name of the sender.
• Locale settings for audio and subtitles can now be adjusted independently in Battle .net prior to launching the game.
• Non-Latin glyphs no longer overlap.
• A tooltip now displays when hovering over truncated text.
• Chat keeps up with the latest messages.
• Heroes on the match results screen are now contained by boundaries.
• All menus are now distinct between Classic and Reforged graphic settings. • Developer’s note: We’ve implemented a temporary solution to better inform whether you are playing in Reforged or Classic mode, by applying a sepia tone to the background images for Classic.

These additions are a step in the right direction, but Warcraft 3 fans are already riled up over state of the game at release, and the game needs a lot more than some small adjustments to bring it up to modern standards as Blizzard promised last year before release.

Additionally, Blizzard still retains all rights to any custom game content created for Warcraft 3: Reforged. Stay tuned for more on the developing saga of Reforged. 

To say the community is angry about the launch-state of Warcraft 3: Reforged would be an understatement.

Issues such as custom games not being available (and being owned by Blizzard once they are), forcing vanilla owners onto the new client, a total lack of a competitive ladder, and the "new" cutscenes not really being new have once again turned the company's fanbase against it. That doesn't mention minimal gameplay tweaks and negligible improvements to the remaster's additional voice lines. 

Early last week, Warcraft 3: Reforged owners claimed they were being banned from Blizzard's forums for helping other dissatisfied players with refunds or even being banned for asking.

This week, Blizzard is openly allowing refunds for any Warcraft 3: Reforged owners unhappy with the state of the title regardless of time played or when the game was purchased, meaning you can hop right on over to this page and request a refund.

Blizzard said: 

Blizzard stands by the quality of our products and our services. Normally we set limits for refund availability on a game, based on time since purchase and whether it has been used.

However we want to give players the option of a refund if they feel that Warcraft 3: Reforged does not provide the experience they wanted. So, we've decided to allow refunds upon request for the time being. 

The World of Warcraft community has openly spoken about Blizzard's declining customer service quality over the past few years. The forum bans shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has tried to toil through their support since 2015.

What is surprising is that this renowned developer and publisher put so little effort into the remaster of one of its best titles. More so is the attempt to squash dissent on its forums rather than paying heed to the very base willing to pay the ($30) price for a remaster of an 18-year-old game. Warcraft 3 deserves more respect than this.

Warcraft 3: Reforged saw release on January 28 for PC. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Warcraft 3: Reforged news as it develops. 

The release of Warcraft 3: Reforged has been intense criticism across forums, and Reddit, and even publications like ours. Though some of the additions to the RTS aren't ideal, and some key components are missing, at least Blizzard kept all of the Warcraft 3 cheats and cheat codes intact. 

The first section below tells you how to activate cheat codes. The second section contains a list of all of the game's cheats and their actions. 

How to Activate Cheat Codes in Warcraft 3: Reforged

Activating cheat codes in Warcraft 3: Reforged is really easy. 

1. Press the Enter key to open chat
2. Type in any of the cheat codes
3. Press Enter again

If your code was correct, then you will see a "Cheat Enabled" message. 

The Complete Cheat Codes List for Warcraft 3: Reforged

Those are all of the cheats and cheat codes for Warcraft 3: Reforged. The remastered version of Blizzard's 2002 RTS is available on PC. You can buy and download the game here. The standard version is $29.99, and the Spoils of War edition is $39.99. If you've already purchased the game and want a refund, Blizzard will give you your money back. 

The launch of Warcraft 3: Reforged has been rocky to say the least. The game has launched without a ladder, the promised UI is pretty much exactly the same as the original game, and those promised dialogue and cutscene updates are really something. 

These issues are all minor in the face of the largest of them all. It's one that Blizzard themselves wouldn't consider a problem but custom map creators have to suck up: Any Warcraft 3: Reforged custom games are property of Blizzard.

This claim isn't being hyperbolic or an exaggeration in any way. The exact phrasing of the section of the EULA is as follows:

Custom Games are and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Blizzard. Without limiting the foregoing, you hereby assign to Blizzard all of your rights, title, and interest in and to all Custom Games, including but not limited to any copyrights in the content of any Custom Games.

If for any reason you are prevented or restricted from assigning any rights in the Custom Games to Blizzard, you grant to Blizzard an exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, unconditional, royalty free, irrevocable license enabling Blizzard to fully exploit the Custom Games (or any component thereof) for any purpose and in any manner whatsoever.

What this means is Blizzard is able to claim any custom game modes and content as their own and use it however they wish — including taking content creators' hard work and claiming it as their own.

Punishment for Missing the Boat

It's not hard to see why Blizzard has decided to take this stance if you understand the history behind Warcraft 3 and DotA. Well-before League of Legends smashed onto the scene, there was the Warcraft 3 custom game DotA.

Despite being a Warcraft 3 custom game, DotA dominated a large part of the competitive gaming scene for nearly a decade and eventually became more popular than the game that housed it. In time, DotA-likes such as League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth led the charge into the full-fledged MOBA genre that continues today.

Eventually, Valve wrangled in DotA developer IceFrog to create Dota 2 as a full-fledged titled, before Blizzard could get to him themselves. And so Blizzard was left to cobble their own MOBA together in Heroes of the Storm, without the characters that were so well-known to the community and without the vision of the original game.

DOA

It's no mystery why Blizzard has decided to grasp onto any potential massive hits within Warcraft 3's custom game sphere — you would, too, if you were burned by being too slow on the draw to lock down an emerging genre.

The objective failure of Heroes of the Storm doesn't help, either. (Hey, don't shoot the messenger here. I played HotS daily for over a year. Nothing changes the fact its competitive scene has been gutted and development put on the backburner.)

This isn't just a slap to the face to the vast majority of content creators for the Warcraft 3 scene that dump hundreds of hours into working up new and creative game modes, it's a glaring example of just how far the Blizzard of today is from what its fanbase imagines it to be.

It's no one but Blizzard's own fault that they didn't get on the Dota 2 train in time, but content creators for this new half-baked Warcraft 3 remaster will have to suffer for Blizzard's own inaction all those years ago.

How anyone could possibly defend this decision is totally and utterly beyond me, but one thing is for certain: this EULA ensures Warcraft 3: Reforged's custom game scene is dead on arrival.

The original Warcraft 3 released all the way back in 2003, returning us to Azeroth for the battle between orcs and humans. It was a strong game in its own right, but it can be easy to forget how massive and influential the custom game scene for Warcraft 3 was as well. That's something we hope carries over when Warcraft 3: Reforged officially releases next week.

Dota is the obvious pick when discussing popular custom maps. It went on to spawn two of the biggest games in the world. However, we want to look outside of Dota. 

With the release of Warcraft 3: Reforged, we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite custom maps from yesteryear, the ones that we'd like to see revamped when Reforged officially hits the scene. Luckily, with Reforged currently in beta testing, plenty of these maps are already starting to circulate.

Tree Tag

Tree Tag saw two sides, the Ents and the Infernals, playing a game of cat and mouse through a forest. The Infernals had to hunt through the forest and destroy the Ents before time ran out, while the Ents needed to carefully plan, setting things up to survive until the clock ran out.

Plenty of people are already hard at work recreating the magic of Tree Tag in Warcraft 3: Reforged. Hopefully, the balance and tension of this one makes its way to the remastered game.

Castle Fight

Very few custom maps had a better back and forth than Castle Fight. It is a great respite from all the micromanagement inherent to RTS games, as Castle Fight was all strategy and planning.

Instead of controlling units directly, both players simply produce buildings that create those units. The units then attack one another automatically. It's all about trying to outstep your opponent. If they counter your units, you'll want to have a unit on standby that will counter their units. But they'll know that's your plan, so they're going to counter THOSE units.

And on and on. Castle Fight is great. Full stop.

Legion TD

It's rare that a custom map for a preexisting game can be better than 95% of games in the same genre, but then we have Legion TD. There are already several attempts in the process of bringing this tower defense classic to Warcraft 3: Reforged, so it seems likely that one will stand as king of the mountain.

Legion TD is pretty standard tower defense, just refined and well balanced to the point that every game was an adventure.

Island Troll Tribes

Competitive Don't Starve set in the world of Warcraft? Yes, please. There were many survival maps in classic Warcraft 3, but Island Troll Tribes is one of the most memorable. You and your team had to do whatever you could to keep your stats high and knock the other tribes out of contention. The fun came from how you did that.

Would your tribe keep to themselves and hope to build an unstoppable juggernaut? Would you actively seek out other tribes to claim their resources for your own? Would you use sneaky tactics? All out war? There were so many ways to play and make sure your tribe was the last standing. Warcraft 3: Reforged needs this map.

Uther Party

It's Mario Party but in Warcraft 3. We could just stop there.

Just like Mario Party, half the fun of Uther Party was when you were still figuring everything out. What is this minigame? What is my goal, and how do I accomplish it?

It wasn't quite the sheer madness of something like the WarioWare titles, but struggling to understand the basics of each new minigame in Uther Party was great. After that, mastering them all became the priority.

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Many of these custom maps are already circulating on the Warcraft 3: Reforged Reddit and other forums. Hopefully, the minds behind their development keep tweaking them and manage to help them stay fresh for the new release.

What custom maps do you want to see in Warcraft 3: Reforged? Let us know in the comments below! 

What's your favorite RTS game to chill out with while waiting on Warcraft 3: Reforged? Sound off in the comments below, and we'll see you in the Battle.net lobby when it finally lands January 28!

Of course, with the remake coming soon, we're left wondering: is a true successor ever going to come from Blizzard? Will we ever get Warcraft 4? 

Knowing Blizzard's track record with canceling anticipated projects and the timeline on the company actually releasing follow-ups to major franchises, we won't hold our breath.

Sins Of A Solar Empire: Rebellion

Love both turn-based 4X expansion games and fast-paced RTS titles? You get both with Sins Of A Solar Empire, and its a winning combination.

Even before diving into the modding community, the replayability available here is simply huge, and somehow, Rebellion is still getting new patches, updates, and events from the development team eight years after its initial launch.

This is an old one, but one that should be at the top of your list if you've never played it. 

A Year Of Rain

When looking for an experience very similar to the original Warcraft 3: Reign Of Chaos, it doesn't get much closer than A Year Of Rain. The influence and inspiration it takes from Warcraft 3 is very clear, but the twist here is that you can play co-op as a team of two.

The only thing to keep in mind before jumping into A Year Of Rain is that this is an Early Access and unfinished release. There's a lot of potential here, but you have to see it. There's still lots of room for improvement overall.

Seven Kingdoms Ancient Adversaries

There aren't many super-old-school games that manage to effectively work in espionage and diplomacy to the standard RTS conquer formula. But Ancient Adversaries pulls it off.

Managing your population and morale is just as important as amassing overwhelming force, and you've actually have to think about what you will do with a conquered area after taking it over.

As a game that came out in the late 1990s, Ancient Adversaries is a little clunky due to an aging UI, but it's still worth it for fans of old-school RTS titles.

Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal

A mix of tower defense and RTS, Creeper World 3 is radically different than the rest of the games on our list, but still well worth playing if you want to try something new.

Instead of hordes of orcs or stormtroopers, here, you are basically fighting a spilled liquid that terraforms the terrain. Your goal is to stop its relentless advance and eventually fight back to take out the source. It's somewhat like Plague Inc., with a nefarious virus-like substance polluting the land. 

There's a lot more strategy to it than you might think, though, and the number of levels and playthrough styles on offer are staggering. With a level editor included, you could easily sink a very silly number of hours into mastering every aspect of Creeper World 3.

The Tone Rebellion

Since releasing back in 1997, there has never been an RTS quite like this one, and it baffles me there's never been a remake or sequel in all that time.

Very much a product of its time, The Tone Rebellion features a quasi-3D style that will bring to mind contemporaries like Alien Legacy or Septerra Core.

As a leader of the jellyfish-style Floaters, your goal is to free your people from the tentacles of the mighty Leviathan. With light RPG elements and a totally different faction selection than your typical RTS, this is a game that deserved more attention than it ever got.

Sadly, this is one of those classic games that never made it to digital outlets. Your only options now are to find a disc floating around somewhere or hit up an abandonware site. Make sure to give it a vote on the GOG community wishlist page if you want to see it make a proper digital return!

Age Of Empires 3

Plenty of gamers still look with rose-colored glasses at Age Of Empires 2 as the pinnacle of the series. And yeah, it had a lot going for it back in the day. Hell, the game's been re-released twice, with the latest Definitive Edition bringing brand-new campaigns and civs to the game. 

For something a little different, though, I recommend hitting up the sequel if you haven't played it yet or just want a historical game in the RTS genre.

The time periods and locations on display here aren't often explored in the real-time strategy genre, skipping around from Spanish knights in the 16th Century to various First Nations conflicts, the American Revolution, and even the Indian Rebellion in the 1850s.

That's not to mention several new series' mechanics make AoE 3 well-worth checking out. 

Tooth and Tail

Ready for a tale of riots, revolution, and meat, my furry comrade? Imagine if Fievel Mousekewitz and his clan decided to stay home and devour their oppressors while overthrowing the bourgeois instead of moving to America and you've got Tooth & Tail.

Many of the traditional RTS base building elements are turned on their heads here, resulting in fast-paced matches as the Longcoats, Commonfolk, KSR, and Civilized factions engage in a war of supremacy to discover who gets to eat tonight. 

If you dig anthropomorphic mice fighting for justice (whether Mouse Guard or Redwall), you'll have a good time here.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2

If you like the ship-to-ship combat of Empire At War and want to skip the ground-based skirmishes altogether, then the Battlefleet Gothic series is the way to go.

While most of the Warhammer 40K games are based around space marines or various alien factions engaged in wars of attrition on various planets, these titles finally give the Imperial Navy its proper due.

From the killer ship designs to the unique space-based maps, there's a ton to love for Games Workshop fans here, although the PvP and skirmish modes are probably more fun than the campaign in the longterm.

Star Wars: Empire At War

If you somehow missed it, yes, there is in fact a proper real time strategy Star Wars title set during the rebellion era, and it is absolutely as awesome as that sounds like it would be.

Whether moving resistance soldiers through the rainy wilderness to take down a shield generator or commanding a fleet of Star Destroyers to destroy rebel X-Wing scum, Empire At War is pretty much everything you could want from an RTS Star Wars game.

While the base campaign is fun, the real goods are found in the modding community. Devoted fans have painstakingly recreated the Clone Wars and other famous eras of franchise history, which vastly increases your potential play time.

Northgard

Viking-themed RTS? Sign me up! The fact that this one is from the indie developer behind the clever Evoland titles is just icing on the cake.

Northgard has less micromanagement than other fast-paced strategy entries, and it has a more "board-game" feel to it. But it's still most definitely a real-time game that can blow away large chunks of your time. 

In another fun twist, Northgard works in some interesting Catan-style elements for a different economy and resource management system. It also has some decent "expansions" worth checking out. 

Company Of Heroes 2

A unique take on historical strategy, Company Of Heroes 2 offers a slightly different focus than most of the other RTS games on our list.

Starting as the Russian army moves in to break the German forces, this tactical look at WWII features an infantry creation and management system that has been shifted and streamlined from the typical strategy game. 

CoH2 has a solid balance of objective-based gameplay and RTS front-line conquering. While extremely intense because of the subject matter, Company Of Heroes 2 still has enough entertaining gameplay elements to keep you hooked and playing for hours. It, like Dawn of War, is often part of quarterly sales on Steam and GoG. 

Dawn Of War

Somehow, the Games Workshop license still hasn't managed to produce a better 40K real-time strategy game than this ancient (and let's be honest, kinda' ugly) entry from Relic Entertainment.

While a lot of fans were enamored in the first few days, the luster of Dawn Of War 3 wore off pretty quickly. Between bugs in the campaign and the fact that the single-player mode was basically a tutorial for the game's mutliplayer component, things went downhill fast.

Skip that title in the series and come back to this hallowed classic instead. The story campaign of the original Dawn Of War is still incredibly solid for its age.

If you just want to jump into some RTS action and take over territory, though, both the standalone Dark Crusade and/or Soulstorm "expansions" are the way to go. You can grab all of them at Steam or GOG for a very reasonable price these days.

Ready for the re-imagined Warcraft 3: Reforged to finally hit the Battle.net launcher? We've only been waiting 18 years for a proper return to Azeroth in all its RTS glory. And now, it's nearly here!

After Starcraft: Remastered arrived back in 2017, it shouldn't have been much of a shock that Warcraft 3: Reign Of Chaos would get an overhaul next. Frankly, it needed one. While the cut scenes were gritty look and the mechanics solid, the actual gameplay featured a cartoonish graphical aesthetic that didn't quite match the dark story set in the world of Azeroth. 

We still have a few weeks until we can finally return to fight for orcish independence, though, so in the meantime, you might want to polish your classic RTS skills with a few rounds of skirmishes. With that in mind, we've rounded up all the top real-time strategy games to play if you just can't wait for Reforged to arrive at the end of January.

We're going with mostly classic titles here — either because they came out decades ago, or just emulate that old-school style — with a few more modern entries as well to round things out.

Let's command and conquer! 

Warcraft 3: Reforged, the upcoming remaster of Warcraft 3 and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, has been delayed. Only by a little bit, though.

Initially, Blizzard aimed for a December release, before the rollover to 2020. However, things don't always go as planned, and the Reforged remaster has been delayed to January 28, 2020.

We don't just know the release date, though. Blizzard are so sure that January 28 will be Reforged's release day that we also know the time the game is meant to be released: 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST/11 p.m. GMT.

Warcraft 3: Reforged isn't just bringing the classic RTS and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, to the modern age with a new coat of paint. The game's balance is also being tweaked for this new edition, and it's getting new social and matchmaking features.

It's true that Warcraft 3 and The Frozen Throne both have stellar campaigns, but how the community will bring the Warcraft 3 custom game scene back to life will be the most interesting aspect of this remaster. We can easily bet on DotA's last version making its way to the client, but there are nearly limitless custom games just waiting to be ported.

Are you excited for Warcraft 3: Reforged? Let us know in the comments below, and take a gander at the official page for this remaster on the Blizzard Shop.

Phantom Brigade

Developer: Brace Yourself Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

A hybrid of turn-based and real-time strategy, Phantom Brigade sees you leading a team of mechs to war in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to retake your home. Big, stompy robots running through neighborhoods and firing lasers at one another. Need we say more?

We can: destructible environments, customizable mechs, and a series of tough decisions that will help you tell a unique story every time you play. Phantom Brigade is shaping up to be a tricky, tactical puzzle with some serious details to keep you crunching numbers even after you've shut the game down.

It's not Mechwarrior 5 or Battletech, but something altogether interesting in its own right. 

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2020 is shaping up to be a great year for strategy gamers, with several different genres and settings to pick from. This was by no means a comprehensive list of titles, either.

If you're looking for the most anticipated horror games, FPS games, survival games, MMORPGs, or Nintendo games in 2020, be sure to check out the list of related articles below: 

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• Horror games 2020
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• Survival games 2020
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• FPS games 2020
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• MMORPGs 2020
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• Switch games 2020
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• RPGs 2020
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What 2020 strategy releases are you most looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below. 

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

Developer: Rebellion
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

The original Evil Genius was a game that had an amazing premise but stumbled a bit in execution. It released way back in 2004, and developer Rebellion is hoping to knock it out of the park with the sequel 15 years later. 

Evil Genius 2: World Domination sees you roleplaying as your own psuedo-James Bond villain, while building a secret lair, hiring goons, killing spies, and taking over the world. El Presidente would be proud. 

Evil Genius 2 has a bit of Dungeon Keeper vibe to it. Your main priority is building your evil lair gather enough resources to take over the world. It's a game that looks to offer a variety of silly objectives (one asks you to "Bake Alaska") and features a satirical romp through the world of super-villainy.

Grab your sharks with lasers attached to their heads: it's time to rule to world. 

Empire of Sin

Developer: Romero Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: Spring 2020

"What if XCOM, but with mobsters?" is the general elevator pitch for Empire of Sin. This strategy game sees you taking over a crime family during the Prohibition-era, controlling your illegal empire with a variety of underlings, and entering turn-based battles to whack your enemies and expand your influence.

Alcohol is used as currency, and you control a variety of illicit businesses like casinos, speakeasies, and brothels. Empire of Sin also looks to offer plenty of replayability, with random character generation and a map that relocates important landmarks every time you play.

If you're sick of being the do-gooder and saving the world, then Empire of Sin might be your ticket to the top.

Humankind

Developer: Amplitude Studios
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

Humankind, not to be confused with Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, is a bold move. It a strategy game looking to topple the king of the "Historical 4X" mountain: the Civilization series. However, if any team can take on Sid Meier's giant franchise, it's Amplitude Studios.

Amplitude created the Endless series: Dungeon of the Endless, Endless Space, and Endless Legend. Of those three, Endless Legend generally got the most accolades and is in the same genre as Humankind, which has a ton of big ideas and looks to be the next "one more turn" strategy title.

Humankind's big draw is that rather than playing through history as an existing civilization, you get to create your own culture by drawing in elements of several different historical empires. If it fires on as many cylinders as Endless Legend does, it has a good shot to become one of the big dogs of the 4X world.

The Settlers

Developer: Ubisoft Blue Byte
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

Technically, The Settlers should have an "8" at the end of its title since it's the eighth game in the long-running series. However, The Settlers is the first entry the franchise in almost a decade and is serving as more a "brand reboot" than a true sequel. At least according to Ubisoft, who has also developed the Anno series, including Anno 2070 and Anno 1800. 

The Settlers is a city-building game that sees you build up your township through time, adding upgrades and trying to juggle your resources as you go. It's kind of (sort of) like a period Cities Skylines with combat.  

The Settlers is said to feature a few real-time strategy elements in some battles, but it is mostly a low-key affair about building your settlement and optimizing it.

It's a game more about managing your population and making things as efficient as possible, and it's certain to appeal to the lizard-brain project manager in many a strategy gamer.

Astra Exodus

Developer: Atomic Kaiser
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020 (possibly the end of 2019, but probably not)

Astra Exodus is another strategy title that was supposed to come out in 2019 but seems very unlikely. Instead, it's looking more and more like 2020 for this one, too.

Don't let the low-fi graphics of Astra Exodus fool you. The game looks to involve an impressive and deep level of strategy, a ton of ways to play, and more than enough meat to keep you busy for dozens and dozens of hours.

Astra Exodus has a narrative campaign. It has a deep sandbox mode. It has hero units, massive space battles, and tactical ground battles. It builds unique galaxies and has a randomized, massive tech tree each time you play. It even has mod support and a framework that gives you the ability to design your own spaceships in-game.

Warcraft 3: Reforged

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020 (Possibly the very tail end of 2019)

Remakes are a tough one to deal with on a list like this, but Blizzard properties are always big enough to get a nod. Warcraft 3: Reforged, an HD remaster of Warcraft 3, was supposed to see a full release in 2019, but that seems more and more unlikely as the end of the year approaches. Instead, it looks like we can expect it in early 2020.

While Reforged is a remaster, there are plenty of elements to be excited about. The game will see a balance overhaul, and those who still own Warcraft 3 will see the same changes.

You will be able to play either version in competitive matches, so the rerelease should bring an influx of new players to the fold. The single-player mode will feature some changes to the plot as well, and Blizzard has promised improved mod support.

Basically, if you missed Warcraft 3's original run (or you just miss playing it), Warcraft 3: Reforged will be a good excuse to head back to Azeroth.

Wasteland 3

Developer: inXile Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: May 19, 2020

If you have grown tired of the post-apocalyptic shooter trend and prefer a more strategic post-calamity world, Wasteland 3 might be just what you're looking for. InXile's sequel to Wasteland 2 moves the action from the deserts of the American southwest to the frigid plains and mountains of Colorado.

Luckily, though, it still promises plenty of tactical warfare.

Wasteland 3 will have you put together a squad of rangers, building their stats and skills as you construct a base and make important, plot-altering decisions. Just surviving is difficult enough, but you will also have to figure out who to trust and how to balance your squad's abilities.

Tough as nails tactical combat and both singleplayer and multiplayer modes promise a lot of bang for your buck.

Crusader Kings 3

Developer: Paradox Development Studio
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2020

One of the granddaddies of grand strategy, Crusader Kings is set to see a full-fledged sequel in 2020 with the release of Crusader Kings 3. 

Crusader Kings 2 released back in 2012, and developer Paradox has kept expanding that game through a massive DLC campaign. It will be good to go back to square one with the massive strategy franchise with the newest entry.

Crusader Kings 3, like earlier games in the series, is a dynasty simulator set in Europe during the Middle Ages. You take on a variety of historical figures, then go about enhancing your dynasty by any means necessary.

Ally yourself through marriage with powerful monarchs. Betray your family members to get ahead. CK is about as close to Game of Thrones politicking as you can get. We don't have an exact release date yet, but CK3 is supposed to storm the gates in 2020.

Iron Harvest

Developer: KING Art
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: September 1, 2020

Set in an alternate 1920s Europe, Iron Harvest is a real-time strategy game about the threat confronting Europe after World War I. In addition to controlling the era-accurate troops you'd expect, Iron Harvest has a huge number of dieselpunk mechs for you to build and blow up. 

If you're a boardgamer, the art of Iron Harvest might look similar to that of Scythe. Indeed, both Scythe and Iron Harvest are based on the art of Jakob Rozalski. Though, the gameplay found in here is obviously very different from its tabletop cousin.

Iron Harvest promises a full-fledged single-player campaign alongside casual and competitive multiplayer gaming. KING Art, the developers behind the game, have also promised regular updates and free DLC after release.

When you like to outthink, outflank, and outclass your opponents, you're looking for a strategy game to scratch that itch. There are a lot of different subgenres under the strategy umbrella, but 2020 is shaping up to be a year full of strong, upcoming strategy games to look forward to.

Whether it's real-time, turn-based, or any other type of strategy game, games like Iron Harvest, Wasteland 3, and Empire of Sin have you covered. Heck, there's even a remaster (supposedly) coming in Warcraft 3: Reforged.

Here is a small sample of the strategy games you should be looking forward to at the start of the new decade. 

Did you forget Warcraft 3 was getting the remaster treatment? Warcraft 3: Reforged is marching towards release, and this week, the game is starting its limited beta featuring only two of its four playable races.

Over the "coming weeks", Blizzard will send invitations out first to players who pre-purchase the game's Spoils of War edition, and later to players who pre-purchase the standard edition of the game.

Warcraft 3: Reforged Spoils of War nets buyers a few extra goodies on top of priority beta access, such as:

• A Meat Wagon mount for World of Warcraft
• The heroes Thrall, Anub'arak, Jaina, and Tyrande in Heroes of the Storm
• A Third War card pack in Hearthstone
• Skins for thrall, Arthas, Jaina, and Cenarius for Warcraft 3: Reforged
• Four animated sprays and five player icons for in Overwatch
• A Mal'ganis pet in Diablo 3
• Four StarCraft 2 console skins
• One StarCraft: Remastered console skin

The Spoils of War edition costs $39.99, while the regular ol' Standard Edition costs a smooth $29.99.

The above goodies all sound good if you're a Blizzard fan and play a large portion of their library, but if you're not... Well, there's always the cheaper option.

Warcraft 3: Reforged does not have a release date just yet but it's likely to be before the end of the year. We'll find out soon enough with Blizzcon starting on November 1, which is just this Friday.

Fans of the Warcraft RTS games got some really nice news today when Blizzard revealed Warcraft III: Reforged at BlizzCon.  A fully remastered version of the original game, Reforged does more than just make the game look pretty. 

While the game does feature fully remodeled characters, 4k resolution, and an environment built using the most recent modeling and rendering technology, it also features changes to the core gameplay based on player feedback. 

Fans, both new  and old, can enjoy 62 missions while controlling over 20 characters well known in Warcraft mythology. Reforged features more than 40 hours of gameplay -- and yes, all new cutscenes to help enhance the story.

The update also adds several features expected in modern online games, included matchmaking, custom lobbies, and an updated UI. And for those who might want to branch out a bit more, players can create their own custom games ranging from MOBAs and ARPGs to survival games.

An official launch date has not yet been set for Warcraft III Reforged, but we do know it's coming some time next year. So, as should be expected, Blizzard is now taking pre-orders for the game. 

There are two editions for players to choose from. The Standard Edition is $29.99 while the Spoils of War Edition costs $39.99 and includes special goodies for the other games in Blizzard's library -- most notably a Meat Wagon Mount in World of Warcraft and a Hearthstone Card back.

Details on how to order are available on the Play Warcraft III site.