Hearthstone Is Retiring Another Game Mode

Hearthstone is pulling support for the Twist game mode and will be removing it from the client completely in the next major update. Twist joins Duels, Mercenaries, and several other modes that have been retired from Hearthstone in one way or another over the last several years.

In June 2023, Hearthstone debuted Twist, a new constructed format that included special rules that rotated monthly. For example, the inaugural New Age Twist ruleset used only cards from Ashes of Outland and beyond, and restricted the use of neutral cards. Later Twists included 40-card decks, Common-only decks, and even one format where a new set was added to the card pool every day.

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Hearthstone Discontinues the Twist Game Mode

We’ve made the decision to close the Twist game mode. We’re incredibly thankful to everyone who played, experimented, and shared feedback along the way. You can read more about the decision and what it means for Hearthstone from our Game Director here: hearthstone.blizzard.com/news/24259073
— Hearthstone (@hearthstone.blizzard.com) 2026-04-22T17:00:01.006Z

Unfortunately, the Twist game mode is now officially dead. In a blog post from Hearthstone game director Tyler Bielman, Blizzard confirmed that Twist will not receive further updates, and that it will be removed from the game client in Patch 35.4, the game’s next update. Though it launched with the goal of exploring new formats and seasonal structures, Hearthstone discovered that developing Twist as another long-term ranked mode was too demanding.

This announcement doesn’t come as a massive surprise. Twist had periodically been inactive for a month or two at times, but the last format ended on March 1, 2025, shortly before Hearthstone‘s Into the Emerald Dream set. By the date of this announcement, Twist had not been playable for 417 days. Bielman admitted Hearthstone’s lack of transparency regarding Twist did the game mode and its fans no favors and promised to communicate in a more timely manner in the future.

Twist joins a long list of other Hearthstone game modes that have been retired, either completely or partially, over the years:

Solo Adventures: PvE modes that often feature storytelling and pre-built decks, including both Adventures and Missions.
Mercenaries: PvE/PvP team battle minigame featuring a completely different collection from traditional Hearthstone cards.
- Added in October 2021, put into maintenance mode in February 2023.
Hearthstone Classic: PvP constructed format where only the 240 cards from the original Basic and Classic sets were available.
- Added in March 2021, removed in June 2023 with the arrival of Twist.
Duels: PvP deckbuilding format featuring unique heroes, hero powers, Signature Treasures, and smaller decks that players add to between matches.
- Added in October 2020, removed in April 2024.

Fit the 9 games into the grid.

Though Twist is ending, some of the experiments and lessons from it will live on. Tavern Brawl is a long-term game mode in Hearthstone that rotates between crazy formats every week, from making all spells cost health to PvE battles against Gearmaster Mechazod. Bielman revealed that Hearthstone will experiment even more with the format in the future, and is planning several new Tavern Brawls throughout the year, including iterations on The Burndown and allowing gamers to build decks with cards from multiple classes. Blizzard is currently “finalizing plans for new ways for you to play with your cards in Hearthstone,” so fans will have to wait and see what the digital card game cooks up next.