Heroes of the Storm fans asked, and Blizzard said yes in less than a month. Xal’atath, the game’s first new hero in almost six years, was supposed to stay a $7.99 purchase until late November. After players pushed for an earlier gold option, Blizzard posted on the game’s subreddit today that she will be available for 10,000 gold starting Monday, October 26.
“We previously said that she would become available for gold in late November, and a fair number of you have asked for that to be sooner, so starting next Monday (October 26), she will be available for 10,000 gold,” the post reads.
Why it matters
Xal’atath went live on September 28 with Patch 57 as the game’s 91st hero, the first new addition to the roster in almost six years. We covered her reveal at BlizzCon, and since launch she has only been available as a paid unlock. Moving the gold option up by about a month means anyone sitting on in-game currency can add her to their roster next week without spending real money.
It is also the kind of quick, player-first call that has been missing from a lot of live games lately. The request came from the community, Blizzard acknowledged it by name in the post, and the change lands within a week. For a game that spent years in maintenance mode before this revival, that is a good sign of how the team intends to run it.
What’s next
The same post says the team is working on the next PTR and aims to share details “in the next couple weeks.” Blizzard has also said at least one more new hero is in the works, so Xal’atath may not be the last surprise this year.
