When is the next Hearthstone expansion release date?

The Hearthstone team has been incredibly reliable about releasing new expansions on the same dates with nearly clockwork precision since the game launched its first expansion over a decade ago. While there’s a little bit of wiggle room around the exact dates, Hearthstone expansions usually launch in April, August, or December — though of late, that window has shifted forward slightly. Depending when you’re reading this post, those months would be the most likely projection for the next release.

Hearthstone’s expansion release schedule

When I said the Hearthstone team is reliable on expansion releases, to date, they’ve released 27 expansions, and all but two prior to this year have released in April, August, or December. This year we’ve seen a slight shift to release a few weeks earlier, but that shift is still relatively predictable, and very close to the original time frame they set 27 expansions ago:

1. Goblins vs Gnomes: December 8, 2014
2. The Grand Tournament: August 24, 2015
3. Whispers of the Old Gods: April 26, 2016 – Year of the Kraken
4. Mean Streets of Gadgetzan: December 1, 2016 – Year of the Kraken
5. Journey to Un’Goro: April 6, 2017 – Year of the Mammoth
6. Knights of the Frozen Throne: August 10, 2017 – Year of the Mammoth
7. Kobolds and Catacombs: December 7, 2017 – Year of the Mammoth
8. The Witchwood: April 12, 2018 – Year of the Raven
9. The Boomsday Project: August 7, 2018 – Year of the Raven
10. Rastakhan’s Rumble: December 4, 2018 – Year of the Raven
11. Rise of Shadows: April 9, 2019 – Year of the Dragon
12. Saviors of Uldum: August 6, 2019 – Year of the Dragon
13. Descent of Dragons: December 10, 2019 – Year of the Dragon
14. Ashes of Outland: April 7, 2020 – Year of the Phoenix
15. Scholomance Academy: August 6, 2020 – Year of the Phoenix
16. Madness at the Darkmoon Faire: November 17, 2020 – Year of the Phoenix
17. Forged in the Barrens: March 30, 2021 – Year of the Gryphon
18. United in Stormwind: August 3, 2021 – Year of the Gryphon
19. Fractured in Alterac Valley: December 7, 2021 – Year of the Gryphon
20. Voyage to the Sunken City: April 12, 2022 – Year of the Hydra
21. Murder at Castle Nathria: August 2, 2022 – Year of the Hydra
22. March of the Lich King: December 6, 2022 – Year of the Hydra
23. Festival of Legends: April 11, 2023 – Year of the Wolf
24. TITANS: August 1, 2023 – Year of the Wolf
25. Showdown in the Badlands: November 14, 2023 – Year of the Wolf
26. Whizbang’s Workshop: March 19, 2023 – Year of the Pegasus
27. Perils in Paradise: July 23, 2024 – Year of the Pegasus
28. The Great Dark Beyond: November 5, 2024 – Year of the Pegasus
29. Into the Emerald Dream: estimate March 2025 – Year of the Raptor
30. The Shrouded City: estimate July 2025 – Year of the Raptor
31. The Heroes of Time: estimate November 2025 – Year of the Raptor

Cards from the current and previous Hearthstone year — currently Year of the Pegasus and Year of the Wolf — are in Standard format along with the Core cards, while all earlier years are also available in Wild format. The year rotation occurs with the first expansion of the new calendar year, so the next expansion will no longer be in the Year of the Pegasus, but in a new, yet-unnamed Year. Also, since the release of Darkmoon Races in January 2021, each expansion now includes a mini-set released in between each major expansion, which usually adds a small number of cards (around 30), but no new mechanics.

When is the next Hearthstone expansion release date?

The most recent expansion was The Great Dark Beyond on November 5, 2024. We got a full breakdown of the Year of the Raptor during the Warcraft Direct announce-o-rama, so we do know the themes of the expansions for 2025. We would estimate the next expansion, Into the Emerald Dream, will likely release in March 2025, though we don’t yet have official sourcing.

Post last updated November 13, 2024.