If there ever was an opportunity for retired Hearthstone players to share their thoughts on the game, it is now. On Twitter, the game's Lead Balance Designer Dean Ayala, also known as Iksar, reached out to those who used to mainly play Hearthstone, but have moved on since. His question is simple: what would make you return?

The inquiry comes at a time where Hearthstone's popularity seems to be fading, albeit quite slowly. After years of consistently placing in the top 5 most-watched games on Twitch, Hearthstone now regularly falls to the bottom of the top 10. Streamers are trying out new games, with the Dota 2 mod Auto Chess seeming to have a particularly large appeal.

An unpinnable problem

But why is this happening? As can be expected, the replies to Ayala's question all point their finger towards a different issue - everyone wants something different from the game. Some point there fingers to the fact that many decks don't seem to interact with other decks a whole lot; they just execute their own game plan. Others seized the opportunity to once again highlight the in September discontinued tournament mode. Pro player Petr "CzechCloud" Žalud posted a mini-thread, explaining that the game is lacking real challenges at the moment.

Although it's undeniable that Hearthstone's popularity has hit a relative low, it seems quite absurd to proclaim it a dead game already. In just a few months the new Standard rotation takes place, making three sets - Journey to Un'Goro, Knights of the Frozen Throne and Kobolds & Catacombs - exclusive to the Wild format. These expansions' power level was high enough for them to dictate a large portion of the meta ever since their release, so seeing them rotate might make Hearthstone feel as fresh as it once felt to many.