Hearthstone addicts, your prayers have been answered. Hearthstone is now playable on iOS and Android mobile phones.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, the throughly addictive Trading Card Game (TCG) has now become much more accessible and its made made itself available almost anywhere now. While the PC, Mac and tablets, the phone experience is not just a direct port but an interface specially crafted for smaller screens.
“We’re excited to welcome mobile gamers to the Hearthstone community,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Hearthstone’s quick, super-accessible gameplay is perfect for gaming on the go, and with the mobile versions it’s incredibly easy to jump into a match and have some fun.”
The mobile version of Hearthstone brings all of the exciting features and content available in the Windows, Mac, and tablet versions of the game, including Goblins vs Gnomes, Curse of Naxxramas, and the newly released Blackrock Mountain.
Of course the moment I heard the news I was on the Appstore and didn’t want to waste a minute to get it on my phone – the lack of a Wi-Fi hotspot put the brakes on that plan though. It’s a sizeable download… use Wi-Fi… trust me.
Once I did get it downloaded though, I was trawling my friends list, sending out invites and ready to rumble. The one feature that is absolutely key, and sets Hearthstone (and Blizzard) apart from all the competition is cross platform play – something the console industry and lots of other developers haven’t (if not fully) embraced.
Even on the phone, you still have full access to your existing card collection and you’re free to battle anyone – bet they on their PC, Mac, tablets or phones.
Also, anyone who completes one game in any mode on their mobile phone will receive one free Classic card pack from the original Hearthstone set. (Players who download Hearthstone on their iPad or Android tablet and finish a game for the first time also receive a free Classic card pack.) Win or lose, that free card pack is yours just by playing a game in Play, Arena, or Practice mode.
Right now, Hearthstone has done it right and got it right. It is all set to usher in a horde of new players and effectively pwn mobile… and our data plans.
Hearthstone is available for free on the Google Play store or Amazon Appstore for Android, or Apple App Store for iOS.