Two separate dates for two major changes
Reign of the Black Empire reaches Hearthstone on October 20, 2026. The expansion visits the age when the Old Gods ruled Azeroth and introduces Assemble, a keyword that merges two cards into a more powerful one. Blizzard collects the first details in its BlizzCon recap.
Monk is not part of that expansion: Chen Stormstout and his class arrive in March 2027. It will be the first new playable class in six years. Keeping the dates separate prevents players from expecting Monk inside October packs.
What happens before October 20
Patch 36.6 goes live September 15 at 10 a.m. PDT. Logging in grants the free M.O.T.H.E.R. Legendary and opens the Black Market through October 13, where Ranked play earns temporary currency for cards, packs and cosmetics.
On September 22, Battlegrounds adds Aberrations as a new minion type tied to Old God corruption and experimentation.
The Journal will centralize quests and progress
The main interface receives a navigation tray and redesigned Journal. Its Journey will organize quests, events, rewards, bosses and story progress, changing each week. Blizzard has not announced when this redesign will launch.
Hearthstone keeps its basic access free and sells cards and cosmetics in-game, as covered in our best free PC games guide. Our Diablo V report collects the other major release details from the event.
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