Hearthstone Teases Next Expansion, To Be Revealed Friday

Hearthstone's big Friday reveal at BlizzCon will be for the Horde -- or at least, that's what we gleam from the brief teaser video posted today via the game's Twitter account:

Danger lurks amongst the thorns and thistles...

Muster your strength and honor for the #BlizzConline reveal this Friday! pic.twitter.com/hJOhe9Fbc1

— Hearthstone (@PlayHearthstone) February 16, 2021

With Madness at the Darkmoon Faire roughly three months old, it's just about time for a new expansion reveal, so that's almost certainly what this is about. Given the "thorns and thistles" line and the Horde flavor, we're led to believe that the expansion could be themed around the Barrens, a once-popular (in a matter of speaking) low-level area in World of Warcraft for Horde players. Expect to see plenty of centaurs and quillboars, and probably other assorted wildlife.

It's interesting that the Hearthstone devs would choose a Horde-themed area as the setting for an expansion -- which might lead to the next expansion having a distinct Alliance flair. Given that there are three expansions per cycle, perhaps the pattern will be Horde, Alliance, Horde/Alliance War. That's been a theme of WoW expansions but isn't something that's really been touched upon in Hearthstone. After seven years, it's probably time for that evergreen theme to be fully explored.

What do you think the future holds for Hearthstone, not only for the upcoming expansion, but for the future? Does our prediction of Horde v. Alliance this year sound feasible to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!