The Real Reason Hearthstone Is Giving Refunds For Drek'Thar

Blizzard seems to be trying to avoid any extra controversy with its fans, this time getting ahead of a "Hearthstone" nerf that would have been very upsetting to some players. Blizzard was recently threatened by some parents over "Hearthstone" having loot box-like mechanics in its card packs. In the Patch Notes for the upcoming 23.2.2 update, Blizzard revealed that the card Drek'Thar was getting nerfed, with its battlecry, an ability activated upon summoning, getting changed from summoning two minions to just one. While cards in digital TCGs get changed all the time, this one is controversial because of a special version of the card that Blizzard sold.

Blizzard previously sold a diamond version of the card, which cost either 3,000 in-game gold or $25 real-world dollars. Both of these are high asking prices for a single card (a card pack costs 100 gold), so naturally anyone who paid the cost might be upset about the nerf. However, Blizzard said in the patch notes that anyone who purchased the card with in-game currency or with real money would automatically get 3,000 gold the next time they login. Blizzard is even letting those players keep the card. "Hearthstone" fans seem pretty happy with this deal.

While there are plenty of false facts about "Hearthstone" out there, it is accurate to say that keeping up to date with the meta can become pretty expensive. This is why fans are happy to see Blizzard recognize that. One Reddit user pointed out that this was an unprecedented refund, although another commenter broke down why this refund makes sense. "It's actually good business too. The people who bought Diamond Drek'Thar are obviously your whales. A 3000 gold refund is certainly a lot but keeping those players happy is worth much more in the long term," Apolloshot wrote.

Another fan was happy that Blizzard felt comfortable nerfing the card, even after selling a deluxe version of it. Other players who bought the card still feel good about their purchase, since they essentially got a diamond card for free after this refund. While this is certainly great for players, it might make Blizzard more cautious about selling diamond cards in the future, since they would now be expected to make a similar refund if the card gets nerfed.