Valve are having a rethink with Artifact, no updates due soon as they look to address the major issues

Releasing a digital card game years after Heartstone filled the market...gee i wonder what could go wrong

Not much, if you do it right.
As MtG Arena has shown, the market is truly big.

However, as has been iterated many times by now, you really have to do it right, and Valve just didn't this time.
If all of this leads to a re-release next year, who knows, it might actually have a chance.

Releasing a digital card game years after Heartstone filled the market...gee i wonder what could go wrong

Not much, if you do it right.
As MtG Arena has shown, the market is truly big.

However, as has been iterated many times by now, you really have to do it right, and Valve just didn't this time.
If all of this leads to a re-release next year, who knows, it might actually have a chance.

I have to agree with this. We see the same genres like FPS/Battle Royale come out all the time, plenty of them become hugely popular. There's plenty of room for good games, just Valve need to get it right.

So, what are those deep-rooted issues?

While I think there might be obvious things to change,
the reason behind its failure *can* be something like a mixture of bad luck and
many (yeah, not all) people being disappointed about Valve releasing a card game (and nothing else).

So. What to change? Make it F2P and p*ss off people that paid quite a lot for the base game?
Even the low number of players seems like a good argument to change that light heartedly.
Sure, currently there aren't many *playing* Artifact but there a quite a lot that *paid* for the game and are still potential players in the future.

Then, isn't there currently the limitation that you basically can't get booster packs for free?
If they'll change this, people that invested a lot so far might not be very happy about it.
Same goes for the market. You don't simply change things there.

Wouldn't it be an idea if you can order real printed cards that you own for a small fee?
(Only once per card)

Looks like it will be a tough challenge to bring this back on track.


Last edited by sub on 30 March 2019 at 4:12 pm UTC

If they go F2P, or at least bring it down to, like, $5, then I'd have a go. Until then I'm still not interested. Might seem obnoxious to comment such disinterest, but I did try out Hearthstone and ended up sinking $20+, ya know?

As long as you're not a MMO that's constantly being worked on and improved by a sizable live-team, don't think for a second you can ask me for more money after I bought the game. The idea of milking people's wallets way after the initial purchase has become a complete pest in the gaming industry, and led to games designed from the ground up to be unfun and tedious (unless you pay up). Sorry, but I keep to games I can just buy -once- and have fun with.

Well the major issue I hear is that its a digital card game... gonna be a tough one to fix :)

We could see this failure coming from miles away, so it's curious that Valve couldn't. I think it's the sort of blindness that comes from being too close to your own creation.

It makes me sad, because Artifact has become my absolute favourite game with more than 500h playing time.

I don't understand what Valve means by "deep-rooted issues with the game". Once you get deep into the game, it's probably the best online card game of all time. Only most don't get that far at all. Permanent payment barriers and an entry that works like a kick, make people give up the game after a few hours.

So the main thing is that there is no F2P mode, although that could be done already. You could just let people play without boosters and the card market. Especially in draft mode you can have a lot of fun and get to know each card bit by bit. That's really great. Paradoxically, you can't play a draft against a friend outside of tournaments. Why not? Many of the discrepancies Artifact currently has. And this state is supposed to be frozen now? Even if only small changes are needed to greatly improve the gaming experience? And what Artifact really lacks is an expansion of the cards. Does it make sense to freeze it now? I have my doubts.

Who buys Artifact now? Nobody. But there is still no F2P mode. Does that still make sense?

In any case, Valve should now provide an F2P version so that the game is not completely forgotten. And I say that as someone who has invested over 100 Euros in the game.

As I said, it's my favorite game right now and it would be a shame if it broke. A small loss for Valve maybe, but a big one for all gamers and lovers of TCGs.


Last edited by 1xok on 31 March 2019 at 4:27 pm UTC

I don't like Artifact. The lanes concept makes the game feel too confusing and I don't like the end-of-turn shop mechanic. I played a bit of Yu-Gi-Oh back in the day, and I had a lot more fun with that than with Artifact. If they do go F2P I hope I get a refund, otherwise I would be rather miffed.

I don't like Artifact. The lanes concept makes the game feel too confusing and I don't like the end-of-turn shop mechanic.

The $20 is already a discount on the booster packs you get from the game. You have already paid for the cards and not for the game. The game is already free, only that you are forced to buy the (overpriced) booster packs, if you'd like to see it that way.

Valve would have to buy back your cards. However, prices have fallen sharply. Many people have made a plus with Artifact. Valve doesn't have your money anymore.

I played a bit of Yu-Gi-Oh back in the day, and I had a lot more fun with that than with Artifact. If they do go F2P I hope I get a refund, otherwise I would be rather miffed.

The main problem with Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hearthstone and other TCG is that there is no Linux version. I don't feel like sinking hundreds of Euro and hours into it just to bounce off an anti-cheat one day.

Okay, I have other problems with Artifact now. But at least it runs natively under Linux.


Last edited by 1xok on 31 March 2019 at 6:22 pm UTC

It makes me sad, because Artifact has become my absolute favourite game with more than 500h playing time.

I don't understand what Valve means by "deep-rooted issues with the game". Once you get deep into the game, it's probably the best online card game of all time. Only most don't get that far at all.

One of the things that makes Hearthstone such a force to be reckoned with is that it embodies the classic "easy to learn, hard to master" design philosophy. Artifact basically kicks that to the curb and replaces it with "hard to learn, hard to master" along with a business model that inherently put it behind the competition before it was even released. I think it only sold as well as it did initially because of Valve's reputation, but reputation only goes so far when a game simply doesn't deliver.