Blizzard announced today the latest expansion for its online card game Hearthstone that is set to come out early next month.
Named Scholomance Academy, the expansion will include 135 new cards and have special “dual-class” cards that can be used by multiple different classes. In flavorful fashion, the feature will make those cards the equivalent of a “double major” in school.
While Blizzard has not yet officially announced the exact date that the expansion will release, the publisher’s website says that the expansion will come out in “early August 2020.”
The timing is fairly predictable from Blizzard, which has released three expansions every year since 2017. The game’s spring expansion has consistently released in the first two weeks of April, and its summer expansions have regularly launched within the first 10 days of August.
Along with announcing the expansion today, Blizzard has started to take pre-orders on card packs for Scholomance Academy.
The $49.99 pre-purchase of Scholomance Academy includes a bundle of 55 card packs from the set as well as a Kel’Thuzad card back cosmetic and a random golden legendary card from the set. There is also a $79.99 “Mega Bundle” that comes with five Golden Scholomance Packs and 85 normal packs, among other in-game goodies.
Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion comes seemingly on schedule despite the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic that has forced many developers, including Blizzard to enact new work-from-home policies amid social distancing guidelines.
If all goes according to Blizzard’s standard release schedule, Scholomance Academy’s release next month will be followed by another card expansion around the first or second week of December, right before the holidays.
