Hearthstone Update Adds Seasonal Decorations and Discounts

Hearthstone developer Blizzard is celebrating the holidays with a special Winter Veil season that runs from December 9 to January 6.

During this time, all of the Hearthstone battle stages will be updated with wintery and Christmas themes. There is also a bonus offer on buying 50 Classic card packs for the price of 40 (at $50 or £35), though this does not extend to the Goblins vs Gnomes or Grand Tournament packs.

There is also a special festive welcome emote for each of the eighteen heroes. Blizzard says it is planning on adding more bonus content during the Winter Veil.

The updated levels were not playable at the time of going to press, but images of two separate stages--Orgrimmar and Stormwind--can be found below, featuring Christmas trees, festive ribbons and puddles of snow.

Hearthstone launched in April 2014 with four board stages for players to play their cards on; Orgrimmar, Stranglethorn, Stormwind, Pandaria. Since then the number of stages has more than doubled, with new stages such as Naxxramas, Goblins vs Gnomes, Blackrock Mountain, The Grand Tournament, Excavation Site, and The Museum.