Valve’s Dota 2 card game Artifact has moved a step closer to release, with a Steam Store listing page now added for the title.
When the listing was added, it had a release date of Dec. 27—but that was quickly removed and changed to simply 2018.
The two dates are very likely to be simple placeholders and not actually days that are set in stone. Valve has a history of lengthy development periods for its games, meaning it’s not guaranteed that Artifact will be released this year.
Users on Reddit have been speculating that beta keys could be bundled with the Battle Pass or compendium for The International 8, which would at least tide people over until the game is ready for official launch.
Currently, Artifact is in its closed beta phase, with the beta client made available for play to industry insiders, a select few media outlets, and professional players of existing CCG titles such as Hearthstone, Magic: the Gathering Online, and Gwent.
No announcement of an open beta phase has been made as of yet, though Valve did say at a press conference two weeks ago that a mobile version of the game is scheduled for release in 2019. At the event Valve showed off the game and its development to invited industry insiders and press.
