Hearthstone pre-release parties will let you open your Boomsday Project packs early

If you’ve never been to a Hearthstone Fireside Gathering, there’s a pretty big incentive to make the trip in a few weeks.

If you’ve never been to a Hearthstone Fireside Gathering, there’s a pretty big incentive to make the trip in a few weeks.

Ahead of the release of the next expansion, The Boomsday Project on Aug. 7, players can take part in pre-release parties around the world and open their card packs early.

The events will take place over the weekend of Aug. 4 & 5, and players who have pre-ordered either the 50 or 80-pack bundle will be open and play with the brand new cards at a select set of locations.

You won’t be able to play the new cards on ladder, that would be pretty unfair. But you can try them out in two Tavern Brawls—one that lets you make a deck, and another that will give you a pre-made deck from the new expansion to try out.

Of course there’s one negative of this—it excludes free-to-play players. If you’re waiting to buy your packs with gold you won’t get to open them early. But even if you aren’t pre-ordering, you can still go along and play the pre-made decks in the Tavern Brawl.

There are a ton of locations across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. If you’re in Korea, you can attend an event at the Inven studio with developers and pro players in attendance.

In Europe and Canada, Meltdown Esports Bars are the major partner for the event. Just about every location in the chain is involved in these events.

Hearthstone was always designed to be a social experience, and these Fireside Gatherings provide a bigger incentive than ever to get out there and play with others in real-life.