Hearthstone: Whispers of the Old Gods expansion arrives next week

The third full-sized expansion pack for Hearthstone, Whispers of the Old Gods, was announced over a month ago, but at the time Blizzard said only that the expansion would release "in late April or early May." Now the developer has revealed the exact date, and it's almost here.

Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone: Whispers of the Old Gods will finally be available next Tuesday, April 26, in North America and Europe. It will arrive in Asia the following day, April 27.

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Whispers of the Old Gods will introduce 134 new cards to the game, including "corrupted" variations on some classic minions. About half of the new cards have been revealed already, and Blizzard is planning to host a stream on its official Twitch channel later this week to showcase even more.

The launch of Whispers of the Old Gods will also see the introduction of Standard and Wild formats, one of the biggest and most controversial changes to Hearthstone in its short history. You can read our feature on the Hearthstone team's work with the community in creating formats for more information.

Hearthstone: Whispers of the Old Gods cards will be sold in individual packs for real money or in-game gold. Players can currently "pre-purchase" the expansion at a discounted cost of $49.99 for 50 packs (normally, the same payment will get you 40 packs). The pre-purchase offer will end with the expansion's release next week.