Blizzard Now Appears to Be Offering Refunds for Warcraft III: Reforged After Massive Consumer Revolt and Threats of Government Action
Warcraft III: Reforged has been an unmitigated disaster for the once-beloved Blizzard Entertainment. But it seems that the game has other issues than just bugs and terrible graphics.
Following numerous reports that Blizzard was refusing to give refunds to those accusing the game of false advertising, it now appears the company is offering automatic refunds.
However, these refunds come after a massive consumer revolt that involved threats of governmental action and lawsuits.
Blizzard forums user Everoth first reported he was refused a refund in a post to the forums on January 29th,
Everoth reported they requested a refund after reading about the many unwanted changes to the classic game:
“After this whole scam and violation to the map maker rights, I requested a refund. I have not played the game in beta, I have not even installed it. I was so eager to play it on release day but I got busy with work, then found out all the lies in details online about it. I requested my refund and it was automatically denied ‘You are no longer eligible for a refund on any of your product.’”
Everoth then detailed he filed a support ticket threatening to join a lawsuit against Blizzard if he was not refunded.
In fact, he argued that Blizzard’s marketing of Warcraft III: Reforged was false advertising and violated the False Advertisement Law of the United States.
While initially being denied a refund, Everoth did update his post and indicated he was refunded.
“The game was refunded, if the bugs, chat, maps and the promised missing parts are ever patched in or fixed, I will think about getting it in the future, if not. I guess i will just wait until classic or tft becomes playable again without the reforged engine.”
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But Everoth wasn’t the only user experiencing these types of issues.
A Reddit user by the name of chaosgeneral in Australia posted in the r/warcraft3 subreddit about how Blizzard denied their refund request in violation of Australian consumer law.
The player, according to their post, had been attempting to get a refund since the game went live. Frustrated by the many crashes and other bugs, they weren’t able to do more than a few prologue missions; unable to really play the 2v2 or 3v3 games in Reforged.
So they requested a refund based on the fact the game promised a great deal more than was given to players. As the player also notes they had Australian consumer law on their side.
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Chaosgeneral reported that he was initially denied a refund with a message saying “too much playtime.”
He then reported the issue via live chat and then shared the conversation with the Blizzard representative using the name, Nypolden.
Nypolden informed Chaosgeneral that “All purchases as final so a refund will not be guaranteed.”
They added, “Our terms of sale state that all purchases are final. Accepting those terms of sale does mean you agree to them.”
The two would argue back and forth for a little bit before, Nypolden told Chaosgeneral, “I’m afraid that there has been a considerable amount of game play so we will not be able to refund the purchase.”
The two would then go back and forth with Nypolden refusing to address any of Chaosgeneral’s complaints. Nypolden would abruptly end the conversation, “Since there isn’t anything else I can address I’ll let you go. Take care.”
Chaosgeneral would also indicate he issued Blizzard a legal notice through the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
The notice reads:
“To Blizzard Entertainment
On 29/01/2020, I purchased Warcraft 3 Reforged from your online store.
The game does not match the description provided and is neither fit for purpose or of acceptable quality. A large quantity of issues, from server disconnects to campaign crashes to broken hotkeys renders the game unplayable.
Features advertised directly on your website do not match the received product, for example a video on the website https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/ details a new cutscene, that is not even in the game.
After hours of unsuccessfully attempting to play the game I have requested, and been denied a refund due to “too much playtime on this game.” I spoke to your online chat representative “Nypolden” and was informed that Australian Consumer Law does not apply to their products, which is absolutely incorrect.
I understand that under the Australian Consumer Law, when I buy products and services they come with automatic guarantees that they will work and do what I asked for.
Please issue a full refund, as the game is completely unfit for purpose and does not line up with advertised materials.
If I do not hear from you within 5 working days, I will lodge a formal complaint with Consumer Affairs Victoria and/or report my issue to the ACCC.
You can contact me about this complaint via email at <email> or call me on <phone> during business hours.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Regards <Name>”
Following the complaint and the subsequent viral Reddit thread, Chaosgeneral reported he did receive a refund.
In an update Chaosgeneral stated, “Thanks for your support everyone. I’m happy to report that in response to my below letter they have issued a refund.”
However, others reported issues with Blizzard refusing refunds as well.
In another case, Blizzard support, using the same handle Nypolden, denied refunds due to false advertisement.
Nypolden questioned, “And how was it falsely advertised? Did you not get a RTS game?”
Nypolden then stated, “We will not be able to refund the purchase. Was there anything else I can address? If not I will need to end the chat.”
Another Reddit user, Meywa, reported a similar issue, noting they were unable to get a refund.
One user reported they received a 2 week ban because they were helping people navigate the refund process.
HiddenPants reported, “So for helping people finding refund option makes you get a 2 week ban wow talk about they know they made a bad game and need to silence people… Main account is banned 2 weeks..”
Following the multiple reports of users requesting refunds and Blizzard denying them, and being outright rude to customers, it appears they’ve done an about face.
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Reddit user krOnicLTD reports Blizzard is now offering automated refunds.
They write:
“Hey everyone,
I think word should go out to everyone, everywhere.. Blizzard is giving out automatic refunds for Warcraft 3 Reforged now.. I pre-ordered the game in December 2018, played a bit through the beta (maybe like 10-15 hours) and after release I also played around 5+ hours. I refunded the game a few minutes ago within one minute, automatically.”
They continue:
“It sadly has come that far and it shows that Blizzard clearly sees the shitstorm that broke out and even though they still remain silent about the game, they at least are offering automatic refunds regardless of the time played now. I would have preferred to get a good quality remaster/remake instead of this trash, but maybe! given a few more months of development we will get some more quality into the game (If there will be more development at all. The uncertainty of the future of Reforged was why I decided to refund it).
Through this link you can request a Refund very fast and without any problems:
https://battle.net/support/help/product/war3r/1563/1628/solution“
What do you think of the Reforged controversy? Is Blizzard in major trouble?
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