In a forum post, Blizzard has announced that they are raising the price of Hearthstone packs, arena tickets, and adventure wings for many regions outside of the United States on PC and mobile. The most visible location to many will be the price hike that is taking place in Europe and the UK which will see notable increases in prices starting on March 22.
In their post, Blizzard states that the reason for this change is to "align with local and regional market conditions", likely referencing currency valuation changes and, in at least the UK's case, the pending changes related to Brexit. They also note that the price of the Journey to Un'Goro prelaunch bundle offer will not be affected by this change and will remain the same until launch.
This news comes after many players were already somewhat angry with the change of going from 2 Expansion and 1 Adventure a year to just 3 Expansions a year, which many felt was already attempting to milk the game further. Many players are upset about the change, with the Hearthstone subreddit having many players claiming they will find or play other games like Shadowverse, Duelyst, or Gwent and the Hearthstone section of the Blizzard forum is similarly upset.
For the Android version, the price increases are the same, but there are more regions listed as impacted. Here is a list of the regions impacted: Europe (Eurozone), UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweeden, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Nigeria.
Here is a quick rundown of the changes in the UK and EU with comparison provided:
European Hearthstone Price Changes
2 Packs Old: €2.69 New: €2.99 7 Packs Old: €8.99 New: €9.99 15 Packs Old: €17.99 New: €19.99 40 Packs Old: €44.99 New: €49.99 60 Packs Old: €62.99 New: €69.99 Adventure Wing Old: €5.99 New: €6.99 Arena Ticket Old: €1.79 New: €1.99
UK Hearthstone Price Changes
2 Packs Old: £1.99 New: £2.99 7 Packs Old: £6.99 New: £8.99 15 Packs Old: £13.99 New: £16.99 40 Packs Old: £34.99 New: £44.99 60 Packs Old: £47.99 New: £59.99 Adventure Wing Old: £4.99 New: £6.99 Arena Ticket Old: £1.49 New: £1.99
What do you think of these price changes? Do you think Hearthstone is too expensive? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
