At today's Blizzcon opening ceremony, it was announced that Hearthstone will receive a third post-launch class—the game's first since the Death Knight released in 2022. It's none other than the Monk, a class with origins you can trace all the way back to Warcraft 3's pandaren brewmaster.
Represented by the playable Chen Stormstout, the Monk will get a full reveal next year. While not World of Warcraft's most popular class, it is perhaps its silliest, which fits Hearthstone's cartoonish sensibilities to a T. After this point, the Evoker will be the only class from Blizzard's titan MMO that isn't represented in card game form (unless you count the Night Elf Mohawk).
The expansion coming in the meantime, Reign of the Black Empire, is another old god-themed extravaganza, complete with bouncy electronic grooves all over the trailer. No goofy lyrics this time around, but what can you do?
It also comes with a new keyword, "assemble," which allows players to merge cards for ludicrous combos. It sounds like the sort of shenanigan-magnet Hearthstone is known for.
Reign of the Black Empire will land on Oct. 10, with the Monk class arriving March 2027. Follow the rest of today's Blizzcon news on our liveblog.
2026 games: All the upcoming games
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together
Final Fantasy's 40th Anniversary Album Picks Just One Track from Each Main Game
Video games aren't the enemy of kids' mental health – ignoring them is | Opinion
NVIDIA Releases GeForce 621.01 WHQL Game Ready Drivers
Lack of staff and funding likely led to the recent PHP security snafu; project