Over the last year, developer Blizzard Entertainment has slowly been releasing its games on Steam after keeping them locked behind its launcher for years. First, Steam fans got access to Overwatch 2 in August, but the larger reveal was when Diablo 4 came to the storefront as part of its Season 2 patch. With two of the biggest games in Blizzard’s catalog already on Steam, many players have been wondering what’s next. If a recent leak is to be believed, Hearthstone might be the next game to make the jump. The popular card battler has built a dedicated fanbase, and a launch on Steam might be just the thing to bring Hearthstone to an even larger playerbase.
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The leak comes from OutofGames, who noticed a few specific changes to Hearthstone‘s backend pointing to an eventual Steam release. As with any leak, you’ll want to take this one with a hefty dose of skepticism. Even if the code is in the files, Blizzard could easily change plans, so don’t assume anything until Blizzard makes an official announcement. That said, the leak contains several strings in the code that directly refer to linking a Hearthstone account to Steam. The list of places where Blizzard has added text to link accounts is extensive, adding to the notion that this is coming soon. Of course, it could just be Blizzard prepping in case it does happen, but it would be a bit strange to put in this much work for something that isn’t coming eventually.
The most revealing addition might be the new UI graphic for linking accounts. Again, if this wasn’t something that’s coming soon, there’s little chance Blizzard would go far enough to add it to the backend. That doesn’t mean it’s coming next week, but it’s possible we might see Blizzard announce Hearthstone‘s Steam release in early 2024.
What’s Next for Hearthstone
At BlizzCon 2023, the Hearthstone team gave fans their first look at the new Shadow of the Badlands expansion. The last addition to the card battler launches on November 14 and takes players to Warcraft’s version of the Wild West. Alongside the Badlands update, players will be greeted with new Catch-Up Packs, which are a new way for players jumping back into the game to more quickly catch their deck up to the current expansion.
Finally, the most exciting news might be the addition of Duos to Battlegrounds. Now, you can team up with a friend to take on the game mode, making for a fun, cooperative way to grind through Hearthstone.
Hearthstone is available now on mobile and PC. We’ll likely hear about the potential Steam announcement within the next few months.
