Summary
Hearthstonejust announced the Duels game mode is being discontinued as of April 2024. No more Duels updates are scheduled until then, and the game mode will be fully removed from theHearthstoneclient in a few months.
Duels officially launched on Jul 25, 2025, alongside theMadness at the Darkmoon Faireexpansion inHearthstone. In Duels, players draft a Hero, choose a special Hero Power, and build a 16-card deck composed of 15 different cards and one unique Treasure, adding more cards to their deck after each game until they accrue 12 wins or three losses. For more than three years, Duels has received regular updates, but was considered to be in beta.
Now, Duels is leaving its beta phase in the most unfortunate way possible. In a recent blog post,Hearthstoneconfirmed the game mode would be discontinued in April. No further updates will be featured for Duels until its closure, after which the game mode will be completely removed from theHearthstoneclient. The exact date has not yet been announced, but players will likely want to finish their activeDuels runs inHearthstonebefore then.
When is Duels Leaving Hearthstone?
Though Duels is leaving, parts of the game mode will be preserved inHearthstone’s Arena format. According to the same press release, some Duels Treasures will appear in the next Arena season. Players can expect to hear more specific details once the next Arena season draws closer.
Duels isn’t the first big lossHearthstonehas had recently. In February 2023,Hearthstoneput Mercenaries into maintenance modeafter one final big update. However, as a primarily PvE mode separate from constructed, players can still play Mercenaries, while Duels is being completely removed from the game due to the effort needed to maintain it. What’s more, last year’s esports program was dramatically scaled back, making fans nervous about the game’s competitive future.
While losing two game modes and having its esports program gutted sounds bad,Hearthstoneis still going strong. It hopes to shift the resources it is saving by discontinuing Duels into its other game modes. Battlegrounds is working on introducing a co-op Duos mode, which is scheduled for an upcoming Battlegrounds patch later this year, and the next Standard year and new expansion will likely be announced within the next month or two.Hearthstoneis celebrating its 10-year anniversaryin 2024, and in spite of the loss of Duels, it seems like the collectible card game is not quite finished yet.
Hearthstone
WHERE TO PLAY
Deceptively simple, insanely fun. Sheathe your sword, draw your deck, and get ready for Hearthstone—the fast-paced strategy card game that’s easy to learn and massively fun. You’ll play your cards to sling spells, summon creatures, and command the heroes of Warcraft in duels of epic strategy. Did we mention it’s free to play? Get Packed for Paradise with Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Perils in Paradise.Play on your own schedule—most games take less than 10 minutes whether you’re battling your friends or the AI. Hearthstone’s easy to learn and extremely accessible gameplay is available for Windows, Mac, and iPad.Your deck is centered around a legendary hero and composed of minions, spells, items, and abilities from the epic Warcraft universe. While you play, the sights, sounds, and other details packed into Hearthstone bring the Warcraft universe to life in a way you’ve never experienced before.
