Blizzard increased Hearthstone prices on the Return to Naxxramas Mini-Set launch day. A total of 14 countries saw increases of up to 600%.
Close to when the Return to Naxxramas Mini-Set launched, Blizzard increased Hearthstone prices for 14 countries. This was a surprise to most of the affected players due to the low level of communication. Read on for details.
In some countries such as Brazil and Argentina, the increases went from 150% to over 600%. Ukraine also woke up to a 20% price increase, according to a player on Twitter.
Hearthstone regional prices skyrocket
Less than 24 hours before the Return to Naxxramas Hearthstone Mini-Set, Blizzard posted on a forum that they would be updating item pricing for several countries. The post was in Spanish, but here is a translation via Google:
"Over the next week, along with update 25.4, the price of several Hearthstone in-game items will increase for some countries and regions, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. These adjustments will take place across all platforms and stores. Any initial disparity in pricing across platforms will be resolved shortly after the release of patch 25.4."
This announcement was not shared anywhere else other than the Blizzard forums. It was also not pinned until the topic took traction on social media. Players and content creators who came across the news and saw the new prices when they were about to buy the new Hearthstone Mini-Set didn't believe their eyes.
Facundo "Nalguidan" Pruzzo, a Hearthstone pro player who competed in the circuit for almost 10 years and played in the 2022 World Championship, commented on the increased prices. He mentioned that in Argentina, the cost of a 60-pack bundle was now equivalent to 40% of a minimum monthly salary.
Other Latin-American Hearthstone content creators saw this price increase as their termination notice. In Brazil, for example, prices went up about 150% for 500 Runestones.
Hearthstone's price increase wasn't exclusive to South America since Turkey and Ukraine also saw the cost of the game go up 20% or more. A celebratory day for Hearthstone players with the Return to Naxxramas Mini-Set soon turned into a nightmare, according to the majority of players on Twitter.
What are regional prices?
Many companies try to penetrate lower-income countries, offering prices adjusted to the local purchasing power. Hearthstone had special prices for the above-mentioned countries to make the game competitive. This happens because companies can't charge U.S. prices in every market.
Hearthstone updated its prices in several countries in the past, too. That happened every other year in response to fluctuating exchange rates and purchasing power. However, this time, prices weren't just updated as many countries saw their Hearthstone prices go up to regular U.S. prices. This mitigated the game's previous policies on pricing.
Hearthstone players and content creators talked about the new prices on social media, noting that many communities might vanish because of this. So far, Blizzard has not commented about the matter.
Stay tuned for any updates about this and for more Hearthstone content. Additionally, be sure to visit Esports.gg for all the latest esports news.