World of Warcraft: Midnight is set to introduce the long-awaited player housing system to Blizzard’s iconic MMORPG. Although there is still some time before the expansion’s release, players are already expressing significant concerns following the discovery of a new in-game currency.
The first premium currency in WoW?
The Wowhead website discovered a new currency called Hearthsteel in the alpha version of Midnight. Graphics depicting the currency have been shared, showing silver coins with a distinctive swirl in the center that forms the shape of a house. This suggests that the currency will likely be used to purchase items and decorations for furnishing player housing.
It’s worth noting, however, that it has not yet been confirmed whether Hearthsteel will function as a premium currency. However, the shared images seem to suggest this – Hearthsteel might be available for purchase in multiple bundles through a microtransaction store.
While the desire to monetize the housing system isn’t particularly surprising, it’s worth noting that this would mark the introduction of the first-ever premium currency in the history of WoW. At present, all cosmetic items are bought directly with real money, and Hearthsteel would likely operate in a similar way to Platinum in Diablo IV. This means that players would likely have to purchase bundles containing more currency than required.
Blizzard has not yet addressed this information and will most likely comment on it closer to the release of Midnight. The introduction of a dedicated currency suggests that the company may be planning a more aggressive monetization approach to the housing system. This has naturally raised concerns among players, who have also pointed out the recent visual overhaul of the in-game store. It looks as though it was designed specifically to highlight larger items – such as houses or extensive sets of furnishings.
I expected them to sell home decoration items, but introducing a separate currency just to squeeze out more money, rather than letting players use their existing Battle.net balance, feels like a pretty underhanded move. You can already imagine how it’ll go – a home item priced at 510 tokens, while the store only offers packs of 500 tokens.
All that’s left now is to wait for official confirmation from Blizzard. World of Warcraft: Midnight doesn’t have an exact release date yet, but according to leaks, the expansion is set to be released on February 26, 2026.
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