The series is made up of four core games: Warcraft: Orcs and Humans; Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness; Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos; and World of Warcraft. The first three of these core games are in the real-time strategy genre, where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer-controlled enemy. The last and best selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Expansion sets were also released for multiple games in the series, each adding more content to each game as an effort to expand the product life span of each.Warcraft: Orcs & Humans had no expansions, Warcraft II had Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, and Warcraft III had Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. World of Warcraft has had multiple expansions, namely World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and the upcoming World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

All games in the series have been set in and around the world of Azeroth, a high fantasy setting. Initially, the start of the series focused on the human nations which make up the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Orcish Horde which arrived in Azeroth via a dark portal, beginning the great wars. The Orcs arrived from another world, referred to as Draenor or Outland, a world which has been shattered into pieces by demonic magics. Later on in the series the world of Azeroth was expanded, revealing the new continents of Kalimdor and Northrend, allowing the introduction of the Night Elves, Tauren and other major races into the universe. The world of Azeroth also contains the traditional fantasy setting races of elves, dwarves, gnomes and trolls.

The series also resulted in the publishing of several books relevant to the Warcraft universe setting, covering a wide range of the timelines of the universe. A collectable card game was also published, which offered those who bought booster packs a chance to gain access codes to limited in-game content in World of Warcraft. An upcoming film adaptation is also being produced. A number of comics have also been released alongside the books, further covering parts of the universe's storyline. An online-subscription only magazine has also been released, which is not sold at newsagents, released quarterly.

The first three games in the Warcraft series, including their expansion packs, were all released on both the PC and Macintosh. All of these games were of the real-time strategy genre. Each game proceeded to carry on the storyline of the previous games, and each introduced new features and content to improve gameplay. Warcraft III was the first game in the series to feature a Collector's Edition, and all subsequent games to this have also had collectors editions. Warcraft II was the first game in the series to feature play over the internet using Battle.net, although this was not included until a later release of the game. Warcraft II was also the first in the series to be re-released as a "Battle Chest", a bundle copy of the game containing both the original and expansion. Warcraft III and World of Warcraft have also both had "Battle Chests" released for them subsequent to their initial release. The "Battle.net" edition of Warcraft II was also the first to introduce the use of CD keys to the series, requiring each user online to have their own copy of the game in order to be able to connect. However, a CD key is not yet required to play via a Local Area Network, although speculation is that future games in the series will do so, as another product in Blizzard Entertainment's portfolio, StarCraft II, is doing so by removing the option for using LANs completely, requiring the use of Battle.net.

In 1998, an adventure game in the series, Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, was announced as being cancelled, having been previously delayed from a 1997 release.

In 2004, Blizzard Entertainment moved the series away from the real-time strategy genre, and released World of Warcraft, an MMORPG. Requiring a subscription fee to be paid to play, it also introduced regular additional content to the series in the form of patches. World of Warcraft quickly gained much popularity worldwide, becoming the world's largest MMORPG. They reached a peak 11.5 million subscribers worldwide, however that number may have dropped after World of Warcraft was shut down in China. World of Warcraft has had two expansions, with another announced in 2010. During the production of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce stated that "If there’s a team that’s passionate about doing another WarCraft RTS, then that’s definitely something we would consider. It’s nothing that we’re working on right now, we have development teams working on Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft II, Diablo III, and when those teams are all off the projects they’re working on, they’ll be intimately involved in the discussions about what’s next."

In May 2006, production company Legendary Pictures acquired film rights to adapt Warcraft for the big screen with the game's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard had originally considered hiring a scribe for the film adaptation before teaming up with Legendary Pictures. The companies plan to create a film that will not follow one specific Warcraft game's storyline, but will still take place in the fantasy universe. According to Blizzard's Chief Operating Officer Paul Sams, the film's budget would be over $100 million.

In June 2007, Legendary Pictures chairman Thomas Tull said that the studio was working closely with Blizzard's designers and writers to adapt World of Warcraft. Tull explained the desire to have a good story for the film adaptation, "I think some of the stuff that makes a game translate well... if there's a lore, if there's a road and story and a world that's been created, and characters that are interesting in a way that's more than just point and shoot." World of Warcraft's lead designer Rob Pardo expressed interest in being able to adapt the intellectual property of World of Warcraft to the appropriate medium of the film. He also added that the designers were collaborating with Legendary Pictures on story and script development.

In August 2007, at BlizzCon, it was unveiled that the film will aim for a projected 2009 release. It was also revealed that the movie will take place from an Alliance perspective,with a storyline set one year before the beginning of the World of Warcraft storyline. Also revealed was the $100 million budget. As of this time, no cast are said to be firmly associated with its development. Thomas Tull stated that, "It’s not so much a quest movie. It’s more of a war movie." Blizzard vice president of creative development and co-producer of the movie, Chris Metzen, said at the very same BlizzCon, that they would not make a PG version, stating "We're definitely not going to make a G or a PG version of this. It's not PillowfightCraft."

In August 2008, Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and vice president, Frank Pearce, was asked about the current status of the feature film. He replied briefly: