Hearthstone players who have been inactive for quite a while will find a treat waiting for them.
In a report by PCGamer, it seems that Blizzard is giving away bundle of card packs upon return of players who have been inactive for a while. Upon log in to Battle.net, several players received free card packs as a welcome gift.
However, not everyone have been receiving the same amount of generosity as some players received 120 card packs, while there are those who received 20 free packs.
Some players initially thought it was fake but as soon as they logged in, they found the card packs waiting for them.
Free Card Packs is a Marketing Test of Blizzard
Apparently, the free card packs are part of a marketing test being run by Blizzard.
A Blizzard spokesperson told PCGamer: "We run many different limited and targeted tests such as this to better determine what drives former, new or current players' interest, which is a common industry practice."
"This was a region-specific test for Hearthstone in the UK and France for a subset of relevant players who were first randomly sorted into groups before being assigned a corresponding offer between 20 and 150 packs," the Blizzard spokesperson added.
The free card packs is also Blizzard's way of looking for ways to entice new players to try the game.
This is also the developers way of encouraging veterans to return amid fierce competition from other online collectible card games, according to MMOS.
Regarding how the developer determines how many card packs a player gets, the Blizzard's spokesperson said that it's entirely random.
"It's entirely random. Relevant players are randomly sorted into various buckets and assigned a corresponding offer, in this case a number of card packs."
If you're from either UK and France, you might want to login to Battle.net soon to check if you're one of the lucky few as the deadline to claim the free card pack is on August 5.
You might want to wait a bit if you're from another region or if you didn't receive anything as there might be chance that you'll receive other freebies in the future since Blizzard is planning to continue running tests.
"We will continue running tests like this as they can be a powerful tool for learning more about our players," the Blizzard spokesperson said.
Read Also: Hearthstone Guide: How To Build A Killer Deck To Help You Win Matches
The Gameplay of 'Hearthstone'
Hearthstone is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game. The game was developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment.
Hearthstone was originally subtitled Heroes of Warcraft. It builds upon the existing lore of the Warcraft series by using the same elements, characters, and relics.
The game was first released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in March 2014. Later that year, ports for iOS and Android were released.
The game features cross-platform play. It allows players on any supported device to compete with one another, restricted only by geographical region account limits.
Using constructed decks of 30 cards along with a selected hero with a unique power, Hearthstone is a turn-based card game between two opponents. Using their limited mana crystals to play abilities or summon minions to attack the opponent, players aim to destroy the opponent's hero.
Through winning matches and completing quests, players can earn in-game gold, rewards in the form of new cards, and other in-game prizes. Through gold or microtransactions, players can buy packs of new cards to customize and improve their decks.
Related Article: 'HearthStone' 2021 Expansion Pack: Blizzard Entertainment's Plans and Everything You Need to Know!
