by theygamesBlizzCon 2023 reporting provided by Lauren Bergin.
It can be daunting to get back into Hearthstone as a new or returning player, but fortunately, Blizzard announced catch-up packs at BlizzCon 2023 to bolster card collections. These packs contain cards from every Standard expansion before the final one of the year, Showdown in the Badlands. Unlike regular card packs, catch-up packs are dynamic, as they analyze your card collection to fill in any missing spaces. Unfortunately, the catch to these packs is that you can’t buy lots of them to complete your collection.
We spoke to executive producer Nathan Lyons-Smith and game director Tyler Bielman in an exclusive interview at BlizzCon 2023 to get a better understanding of how these Hearthstone packs will roll out in the card game.
“We’re doing more than tip our toe in terms of the availability of these [catch-up packs],” Lyons-Smith tells PCGamesN. “It’s also not the full buy them with whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want.”
“It’s not just another thing to buy,” Bielman clarifies. “It’s something we’re going to use to help specifically players who have small collections get to bigger collections, so they can have fun with everyone else on an even playing field.”
Players are given free catch-up packs just for signing in when the new expansion goes live, in addition to a Showdown in the Badlands event where you can earn five more. When it comes to spending money on catch-up packs, they’re available in the pre-order bundles for the expansion, and more packs will be in the store in launch-day bundles. Other than that, players cannot purchase more catch-up packs until Blizzard makes more of them available.
In the example shown at BlizzCon, 20 catch-up packs were opened on a completely fresh account, instantly unlocking 798 cards. These packs feature cards from five expansions in Hearthstone’s Standard format (Voyage to the Sunken City, Murder at Castle Nathria, March of the Lich King, Festival of Legends, and Titans), meaning there are 851 collectible cards to obtain. It’s worth noting that the three oldest expansions will rotate out sometime next year, sending 523 out of the 851 cards into the Wild format.
While Lyons-Smith and Bielman don’t mention a set price for these packs, however, there will be catch-up pack bundles available in the Hearthstone shop from Tuesday, November 14. You can find the full details of how catch-up packs distribute cards over at Blizzard’s support website.
In the meantime, get reacquainted with one of the best multiplayer games available by checking out our guide to the best Hearthstone decks for beginners.
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