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Return of the Lich King could be Hearthstone’s next expansion

Return of the Lich King Hearthstone

Update June 29, 2017: It turns out Blizzard will be making a special expansion announcement at the upcoming Spring Hearthstone Championships. That announcement will likely be the formal unveiling of the Return of the Lich King expansion.  

We’ll find out additional details during the reveal, currently timed for Thursday, July 6 at 19:00 PDT. Stay tuned to Blizzard’s official Twitch channel for more details as they arise, and keep checking back at PCGamesN as we bring you additional updates. 

If you’re still jonesing for more Hearthstone, there’s a special live Q&A session tomorrow at 10:30 PDT between game director Ben Brode and principal game designer Mike Donais. They’ll be answering questions about balancing as well as Journey to Un’Goro. 

Prepare for a potential trip to Northrend with this list of great Hearthstone starter decks.

Original Story June 11, 2017:In the spirit of E3 leaks and conspiracy theories, a dedicated fan over on the Hearthstone subreddit may have pieced together clues as to what the next expansion will be. Looking at recent promotional card backs, the initial Year of the Mammoth teaser at the beginning of the year and trademarks filed by Blizzard, we may be heading back to Northrend for the next expansion.

This all stems from a Blizzard trademark that was filed four months ago for something titled ‘Return of the Lich King’. User PenguinJ2 has theorised that it is too early for the Lich King to make a reappearance in World of Warcraft, the likelihood of a fourth Warcraft game is very low and it can’t be a Heroes of the Storm add-on as Arthas is already in the game. By process of elimination, Return of the Lich King must be the next Hearthstone expansion.

This idea is further backed up by Blizzard registering a GoDaddy domain at the same time as filing the Return of the Lich King trademark. Since the trademark of previous Hearthstone expansion Wrath of the Old Gods, Blizzard have always registered an accompanying website domain to stop anyone else stealing it.

Moreover, the last two card backs that players have been able to acquire have been related to Arthas’ journey to become the Lich King. May’s card back was related to the Sunwell, the place where Arthas revived the sorcerer Kel’Thuzad, while June’s card back links to Dalaran, which Arthas destroyed after summoning the demon lord Archimonde. If July’s card back related to Northrend or Icecrown Citadel, it’s pretty likely that Return of the Lich King will be the next Hearthstone expansion.

The original teaser image for the Year of the Mammoth expansion is also a bit of a giveaway if you look at it in the light of these rumours, as it shows Death Knight and Frostmourne-esque runes encircling the Q3 expansion. With many clamouring for a Death Knight class in Hearthstone, the next card set may be just for you.

If Blizzard releases any news about a Lich King themed expansion during E3, we’ll definitely let you know.