Very little was heard from Valve’s end in regards to their latest offering, Artifact until Dota 2 caster Xyclopz leaked some information last week, where he said that he believed Artifact would be released in December of this year. Looks like that info was not far off.
In a press release sent out by Valve earlier today, the company announced that the game will be released on Nov. 28 later this year. The same release also says that the game will be playable at PAX West, a gaming expo taking place in Valve's hometown of Seattle, Aug. 31 - Sep. 3.
The game will cost $19.99 and will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux on 28th November 2018. Each player will get a total of 228 cards, split between two preconstructed decks and 10 packs of 12 cards each.
So when comparing Artifact with Hearthstone, cost-wise, we can see that Hearthstone’s free-to-play nature makes for an easier entry for casual gamers who wouldn’t want to spend any money initially.
However, Artifact cards are just flat out cheaper. At $2 for 12 cards, each card lands at $0.16, which is 7 cents cheaper even when you buy Hearthstone packs in the biggest possible bulks of 60. What’s more, with 12 cards, a player simply has a higher chance of getting a higher rarity card than they do in Hearthstone’s 5-card packs.
So while it will not be as lucrative to casual players who are looking to play the game casually, dedicated players could get more out of Artifact for their money. Considering the Steam market will also be a place to trade, sell, and buy cards, obtaining full Artifact collection should just be easier.
Valve also announced that the game will become available on Android and iOS during 2019.