Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a high fantasy real-time strategy video game released by Blizzard Entertainment in July 2002. It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and it is the third game set in the Warcraft fictional Universe. An expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, was released in July 2003.
Warcraft III contains four playable races: Humans and Orcs, which had previously appeared in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and the Night Elves and Undead, which were introduced to the Warcraft mythos in this installment. Warcraft III 's single-player campaign is laid out similarly to that of StarCraft, also by Blizzard Entertainment, being told through all four of the game's races in a progressive manner. Multiplayer mode allows for play against other players, via the internet, instead of playing against computer-controlled characters as is done in the single-player custom game mode.
The game proved to be a best seller and one of the most anticipated and popular computer game releases, with 4.5 million units shipped to retail stores and over one million units sold within a month. Warcraft III won many awards including "Game of the Year" from more than six different publications.