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Is Hearthstone preparing for two-player co-op fights?

Hearthstone has quickly won over the hearts of gamers as one of the best digital card games ever put to code, but up to this point it's been a strictly solo pursuit. Either you're going one-versus-one against other players, or you're taking on AI-controlled opponents by yourself. But a new leak from Hearthstone's latest patch suggests that may not always be the case.

Released yesterday, the patch has quickly been datamined by hardcore Hearthstone players looking for a taste of what's to come for the game. These are some of the most intriguing files they discovered, via Reddit:

Added VO_HRW_TEST_00.AUDIOFILE: "test"

Added VO_HRW_TEST_01: "Well done! You've defeated the boss together.\n\nBoth players win!"

Added VO_HRW_TEST_01.AUDIOFILE: "test"

Added VO_HRW_TEST_02: "Defeat Gearmaster Mechazod together to win!"

So what does it all mean? The implication of these audio files certainly seems to be that there will be at least one encounter added to the game where two players will team up. It's possible this could be an addition to Hearthstone's next single-player-focused adventure pack (which has not been announced), or it could be a surprise for the game's Tavern Brawl mode, which offers tweaked game rules every week.

Of course, with file names that include "TEST," it's also possible that these are just that — tests for an idea Blizzard is playing around with that may not have any bearing on the immediate future of Hearthstone. We've reached out to Blizzard to see if they have any information, and we'll update this story if we hear back.

Whatever the reason for these mysterious problems, we'll probably be waiting a while to find out. Blizzard is just about to release Hearthstone's next expansion, The Grand Tournament. The developer revealed all 132 cards from the new expansion yesterday.

You can watch us take on one of the more recent Tavern Brawl challenges and reveal a new The Grand Tournament Card in the video below, or check out our full Hearthstone playlist on YouTube.

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