Warcraft: Orcs & Humans: 5 Open Source Clones Compared
WinWar has been archived by its own developer, who states in its README that the project 'lost its purpose' once Blizzard released an official Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Remastered in November 2024. Among the remaining options, War1gus runs the original game's own graphics and sounds through the separate Stratagus engine, adding modern conveniences like mouse controls, a map editor, and multiplayer. SR is a different kind of project again: a generic static binary recompiler whose supported game list also includes unrelated titles like X-COM and Albion, not something purpose-built around Warcraft specifically.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 19d ago
- Stars
- 416
- Contributors
- 3
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires original DOS or Windows game executables as input to the static recompiler.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Stars
- 153
- Contributors
- 3
- License
- Zlib
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires DATA.WAR file from original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans MS-DOS or shareware version.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 3mo ago
- Stars
- 132
- Contributors
- 10
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires game data extracted from original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans installer using the built-in extractor tool.
- Multiplayer
- Multiplayer
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Archived
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 80
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- MonoGame
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires the original game; game data must be copied from Warcraft 1 retail or demo version.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 58
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires legal copy of original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans MS-DOS version.
- Multiplayer
- —
| Title | SR | War1 | War1gus | WinWar | OpenWar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | — | Semi-playable | Playable | Playable | Unplayable |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi | Linux, Windows, OSX | Windows | Linux, OSX |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||||
| Development status | Active | Active | Active | Archived | Halted |
| Last updated | 19d ago | 1mo ago | 3mo ago | 2y ago | 3y ago |
| Stars | 416 | 153 | 132 | 80 | 58 |
| Contributors | 3 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| License | — | Zlib | GPL-2.0 | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Engine | — | SDL2 | — | MonoGame | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | |||||
| Requires original assets | YesRequires original DOS or Windows game executables as input to the static recompiler. | YesRequires DATA.WAR file from original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans MS-DOS or shareware version. | YesRequires game data extracted from original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans installer using the built-in extractor tool. | YesRequires the original game; game data must be copied from Warcraft 1 retail or demo version. | YesRequires legal copy of original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans MS-DOS version. |
| Multiplayer | — | — | Multiplayer | — | — |
| Preview | | | | |
Known limitations
- gameplay: AI implementation is still in development; cinematics and save/load features are not yet implemented.
- compatibility: Built-in extractor tool is currently not working correctly on macOS; a third-party script is available as a workaround.
- platform: iOS code is still present but non-functional; iOS is no longer officially supported.
- gameplay: Not all functions work 100% the same as original; most resources are decoded but game is not yet playable.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Warcraft: Orcs & Humans clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Warcraft: Orcs & Humans clones use?
War1 (Zlib); War1gus (GPL-2.0); WinWar (MIT); OpenWar (GPL-3.0).
Do I need to own the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans to play these clones?
SR, War1, War1gus, WinWar, and 1 more require original game assets to play.
Which Warcraft: Orcs & Humans clone is the most actively maintained?
SR, War1, and War1gus are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.