Valve's infamous Artifact is returning as Beta 2.0 and signups are starting as early as next week!
This news comes after Valve talked about Artifact's return a month and a half ago. If you're interested in getting in on the beta test, there's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that if you purchased the game prior to March 30, 2020, you're prioritized to join the beta and you'll be sent an email next week with details on how you can signup. The bad news is that not everyone is going to get in right away as Valve wants to trickle the invites out.
Player collections will be changing quite a bit with cards now being unlocked through gameplay rather than through the purchase of packs or cards themselves directly. Valve has stated though they have plans for other sales with more details coming at a later date.
It looks like we'll be getting a much longer beta this time around since Valve says that "the Beta for the original game started too late and was too short". Previously, beta lasted all of 9 days, starting on November 9, 2018 and ending with the initial launch on November 28, 2018. Hopefully, things will be better this time around and Valve will take into account feedback from the community before making their final launch decisions.
Quote From Valve We are happy to announce that we are moving to the next phase of the Beta!
The Beta for the original game started too late and was too short. We’ve decided to approach things a bit differently this time around by gradually inviting people to join us while we are still “Under Construction”.Here’s the updated road-map:
- Test boring stuff
- Trickle out invites, starting with players of the original release <- We are here
- Work on the Beta, eventually transitioning to an open beta
- Leave Beta
We will be sending an email to all players with the original game on their Steam Account (it doesn’t need to be installed). Emails will appear by NEXT WEEK. Follow the instructions in the email to sign up for the Beta.
We will use a lottery system to invite people who have opted in. Access to the Beta will remain closed until we’ve worked though the signups from players of the original. Communication about the game will remain open for the duration of the Beta.FAQ:What are we testing?
Gameplay, Balance, Hero Identity, Color Identity, Social Features, Card Unlocks, Ranked Play, Replays, Spectating and the Campaign.
What aren’t we testing?
Some gameplay modes will be locked. Tournaments and draft modes, other than Hero Draft, won’t be available until we add more players. The tutorial is disabled since we are only inviting players of the original game - the campaign should be a good refresher if you haven’t played in a while.
Who should join?
There will be bugs, temp art, and data may be reset early in the beta. Some players may wish to wait until the game is further along to start playing, but there is no harm in signing up early.
How do I get in?
If you played Artifact 1.0, and would like to help us test, check your email for a sign-up link. Slots are limited- but we will be gradually adding more and more people to the beta, so don’t worry if you don’t get in right away!
But I’m a member of the press/an influencer/etc. Can I get in?
Selection for invites will be randomly generated. So… absolutely maybe!
If I get in, are there any restrictions on what I'm allowed to say/stream/share?
There are no restrictions. Due to the slow ramp in beta invites, professional streamers may want to wait until Open Beta where there will be a more significant player base.
I didn’t play the original. If I buy the original game now, will I be able to get in?
Not yet. We are prioritizing people who purchased before March 30, 2020.
Will my stats, cards, decks, etc. be transferred from the original game?
In the new version cards are unlocked through play. Individual cards are likely to have been changed, removed, or brand new; so old decks and stats wouldn’t be valid.
Can I buy cards/packs in the Beta?
We have some ideas about what we’d like to sell, but none of them are cards/packs.
Comments
On the one hand: any significant new game in the genre is a potential for both developers and players to learn and enjoy, so it is hard to frame this as anything other than good news.
On the other hand: I'm extremely troubled by how Valve has treated Artifact so far--especially how they went radio silent as their play-rate plummeted. It is a lot of effort to create AND MAINTAIN an interesting CCG, and frankly their behavior this past year strikes me more like a business trying to recuperate whatever tail revenue they can off a failing investment than a game company trying to earnestly create the next Big Thing.
It does look like they're doing a complete overhaul - there's a ton of detail in the last month of news posts. They're removing unit placement RNG, for one. I don't think we can write it off until we see what game emerges from beta.
Oh no, the dreaded Hearthstone Killer is back again, how will it survive this time?
I will keep an eye on it, but I am not spending a dime. Not again:)
I love HS and I have recently started playing Runeterra which so far (only a few days) is super fun!! I don't think I have room in my life for another card game.
Richard Garfield's influence hasn't helped a fledgling CCG in a decade. Here's hoping they swept his influence out properly.
Though not strictly a CCG his KeyForge card game has been pretty successful
Disappointment 2.0
With runeterra not slowing down and hearthstone generally been doing some good stuff lately, can't see artifact 2.0 taking down the competition anytime soon.
Its not just the game purchase price (not even sure if its still pay to play or going FTP now). The game's quite complex in itself, and yet not completely free from randomness. If anything, runeterra took the same model and made it simpler, so artifact's gotta do something to make it more than just a more complex clone of runeterra.
Yeah, this is going to be a very tough go for Valve. I just can't see how people are going to jump into the space when Runeterra exists. When it was just Hearthstone and MTG, there was room for improvement. Riot has hit the nail on the head and sealed everyone's coffins as far as I'm concerned.
Always will keep an open mind because if a better game comes along, the older titans can find new inspiration to improve, but yeah... very tough.
Exactly. LoR took the last little slice of available market share. Don't think there is any room left for more competition. At this point for any company to even consider a slice of the card game market, they'd have to do not only something TRULY innovating but also blow the other competition out of the water. Something I don't see Artifact doing on either account...
This.
I've been playing Hearthstone since Pre-Naxx and spent way more money on it than I'd like to admit. Then I played LoR for a week and it killed Hearthstone for me in an instant. And since the mobile launch LoR has really gained some attention where people love the simple but yet complex playstyle (and less RNG if they joined from Hearthstone).
It's gonna be tough for artifact 2.0
Soooooo.... New players still gonna need to buy the game, right? No F2P option? Yeah, good luck mate.
I'll admit it could be bias talking, but I think so long as the game is good the price tag shouldn't be an issue. CSGO still had well over 300k concurrent players at a $20 price tag before going free to play. Even before that, PUBG had the single largest concurrent player base on Steam at over 1 million players for a few months in 2018, despite a $30 price point.
Granted, both of those games are shooters, which are generally more accessible, but both were also fairly complex ones compared to similar games of the time.
Whats worse is that the game already has a bad rep, so with there being no way to actually test the game out other than watching game play so people are bound to run into old reviews and content that will influence their purchasing decision.
I'm actually super excited for this. I loved Artifact but it went on to prove that physical card game monetization does not work in a digital setting, and that fact had a big hand in ruining the game.