On March 29, 2019, Valve put its digital collectible card game Artifact in a development coma. The once highly anticipated card game, based on and inspired by the studio's popular MOBA Dota 2, had flopped hard after its release, dropping to a player base of mere hundreds just two months after becoming available. The game went into hibernation: it was time for a rework. And now that rework has arrived.

In a blog titled "What's the plan - Beta 2.0", Valve lays out what it has in store for those who have been waiting on an Artifact update. First of all, the gameplay is being changed significantly. Whereas previously you only could play cards in one lane at the time, players will now have access to all three card lanes at once. Artifact's economy is undergoing a drastic change as well. Valve will no longer sell cards, implying that a card collection is either acquired through a progression system, or that everyone will receive all cards for free.

No details have been released about when Artifact's Beta 2.0 will roll out. When it does arrive, those who had purchased Artifact prior to the announcement of Beta 2.0 will be invited to a closed beta first. From there, gradually more people will be invited to test 'revived' Artifact, until it reaches its open beta stage.