Hearthstone Open Beta Delayed Until January

Blizzard had originally planned to take Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft into open beta this December, but has since pushed the game’s public release back to January 2014.

In an official blog post, Hearthstone production director Jason Chayes explained that the team working on the game wanted more time to see how players respond to the closed beta trial, and to take additional time in identifying key issues that may affect the gameplay experience.

“We believe the right thing to do for the game is to not rush it out into open beta, but to instead hold onto it a little longer to make sure it’s ready for wider testing,” wrote Chayes. “At BlizzCon, we mentioned that we hoped to get the game into a state where it’s ready for open beta this month, but we’re just not quite there yet.

“The development team has been working hard to get this out before the end of the year, but our highest priority is that Hearthstone has an awesome launch when all gates are lifted and everyone can download it and play at the same time.”

“We’re close to the open beta—very close. And to enter this final part of our beta phase, we need your help. Keep trying out new decks, reporting bugs, and giving your feedback on our forums. That’s the best way you can help the team get Hearthstone into everyone’s hands as soon as possible.”

You can apply for the beta here.