Warcraft III: Reforged—Forsaken Kingdom Is Out Now: Price, Story, and Patch 3.0 Explained

Blizzard used BlizzCon 2026’s opening ceremony to surprise-release Warcraft III: Reforged—Forsaken Kingdom, the first new Warcraft III story campaign in more than 23 years. It is paid DLC for PC through the Battle.net Shop, while the accompanying Patch 3.0 update is free for people who already own Warcraft III: Reforged. 938

What Forsaken Kingdom costs and where to buy it

Forsaken Kingdom requires Warcraft III: Reforged and is sold on the Battle.net Shop. Reporting published alongside the launch lists the standalone DLC at $29.99 USD; regional pricing and bundles can differ. Blizzard also offers purchase options that pair the campaign with the base game. 6925

The campaign was playable immediately after its BlizzCon reveal on September 12, 2026. 38

A new story between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft

The expansion returns to the final days of Lordaeron: its fall, the rise of the newly freed Forsaken, and the transformation that leads to the Undercity. Sylvanas is central to the story, which also revisits Arthas and introduces new characters. 1531

Blizzard describes the release as more than 30 hours of new story content. Its campaign is structured as a prologue, The Last Days of Lordaeron, followed by the main Forsaken Kingdom campaign across three chapters. 615

That setting makes the DLC a deliberate bridge to World of Warcraft. Blizzard says World of Warcraft: Forever continues shortly after the campaign’s events and is scheduled to launch on November 4, 2026. 912

What players get in the campaign

Beyond conventional RTS missions, Blizzard has positioned the main campaign around exploration and maps built with greater verticality and dynamic lighting. The game’s updated technology supports refreshed fog and lighting systems, as well as day-to-night transitions. 31

The result is a return to a major unexplored period of Warcraft history: the shift from Lordaeron’s destruction to the Forsaken’s early control of the Undercity.

Patch 3.0 is free for Reforged owners

The paid campaign launched beside the free 3.0 update, which is the broader reason the announcement matters for existing Reforged players. 9

Definitive Edition graphics mode

Patch 3.0 adds Definitive Edition, a new graphics mode intended to retain the original game’s readable unit silhouettes and stylized visual identity while improving overall fidelity. Blizzard says the update rebuilds more than 600 units and refreshes environments, lighting, effects, and structures. 4

24-unit group selection

The update doubles the unit-selection limit from 12 to 24, a practical quality-of-life change for larger battles and army management. 40

The Forsaken Paladin is free in multiplayer

Patch 3.0 also adds the Forsaken Paladin, a new neutral Tavern hero. It is available at no additional cost for multiplayer players, rather than being locked behind the campaign DLC. 1113

World Editor improvements

Custom-map creators receive the systems used to build the new campaign maps. Blizzard specifically highlights tools and technology supporting terrain verticality, dynamic lighting, reworked fog and lighting, and day–night transitions. 2831

Why this release stands out for Reforged

Warcraft III: Reforged launched in 2020 to a deeply divided response, and coverage of Forsaken Kingdom frames the new graphics option and feature work as part of Blizzard’s effort to improve that version of the game. 2316

The distinction here is scale: rather than a maintenance patch alone, Blizzard paired a substantial free update with a paid, full-length story campaign—the first new Warcraft III narrative in more than two decades. For returning players, Patch 3.0 supplies improvements without requiring the DLC; for lore-focused players, Forsaken Kingdom provides the missing narrative link into World of Warcraft: Forever. 938