World of Warcraft studio’s free card game Hearthstone comes to iPad

By Adam Rosenberg April 16, 2014

smaller screen bigger audience hearthstone heads iphone android phones 2015 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is officially out worldwide in the iOS App Store, following a soft launch during which the game was only available in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The collectible card game is a free-to-play offering from Blizzard Entertainment, the same folks behind World of Warcraft.

The game was first released for Mac/Windows in March 2014 following an extended beta period that kicked off in January. This new release is iPad-only (iPad 2 or higher), and an Android version is also in development, though no release date is set.

Like other games of this sort, Hearthstone is all about building decks and engaging in battles — against another player or the CPU — in a never-ending pursuit for more XP and more cards, as well as crafting materials to make cards. There are some distinctly Warcraft-y twists, but card battles are the heart of the game.

All progress transfers between platforms, since Hearthstone connects to your Battle.net account. Unfortunately, that also means this is an online-only game, though it’s worth mentioning that Blizzard revealed plans to release a single player take at some point. Those that download the app now will nab themselves a free card pack. Give it a try, especially if you’ve ever found yourself enjoying a game of Magic: The Gathering.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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