Hearthstone going co-op for the first time

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard's competitive card battling game, will finally allow players to fight together, instead of against each other — for one week, anyway, according to Battle.net.

The latest limited-time-only Tavern Brawl event, called "Unite Against Mechazod," tasks players of the free-to-play Android, iOS, Mac and Windows PC game to find a partner with whom they'll take on the titular, mechanical enemy.

"You'll each be piloting a pre-built deck assembled to give you and your partner on the other side of the board a chance to take out" Mechazod, the announcement reads. The character will switch which side of the board he's fighting against during each turn, and victory hinges on both players lasting through the match.

Whether you win or lose, both players will receive a free pack of cards for participating in the new co-op mode, which Blizzard says will be available at Tavern Brawls' "usual time" — meaning it starts tomorrow and lasts through next Monday, Nov. 9.

Hearthstone's dedicated fanbase has been speculating on the introduction of co-op in the game for some time now. Typically offering one-on-one play, a leak uncovered back in August suggested that the chance to play cooperatively with friends or other players would be making its way into the game, even mentioning the Mechazod boss by name.

While it appears that the leak was pointing toward this week's Tavern Brawl, it's possible that the focus on co-op is a first test of something larger coming in future updates. Blizzard will surely talk more about Hearthstone at this year's BlizzCon, which starts this Friday, Nov. 6. Much of the weekend event, including the 2015 Hearthstone World Championship, will be livestreamed.