Hearthstone storms onto Android tablets, phone version incoming
After months of anticipation, World of Warcraft-maker Blizzard has brought its popular card-battling game to Google gadgets.
Lok'tar ogar! The long wait for Hearthstone on Android has finally come to an end, as Blizzard's addictive card-duelling game lands on Google's operating system.
Hearthstone, which is a virtual trading card game based on characters and lore from Blizzard's Warcraft franchise, sees players battling head-to-head in online matches, deploying powerful minions and spells in a bid to deplete their enemy's health and claim victory.
The game requires an Internet connection to play and is free to download, but features optional in-game payments. It arrived on iPad in April, and hit the 20 million download mark in September.
For now you'll need a tablet with a screen that measures at least 6 inches, and is running Android version 4.0 or later. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the first countries to get the new Android version, but a global rollout will be happening over the next few days, so check the Google Play store to see if your nation has been granted access. Blizzard has also stated that a smartphone version of Hearthstone is in the works, for Android mobiles and the iPhone.
Developer Blizzard is best known for World of Warcraft, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game that recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. With Warcraft subscriber numbers waning, however -- now at around 7 million, down from 12 million in 2010 -- the pressure is on to create another massive hit.
Getting Hearthstone onto as many platforms as possible will be part of that, while hopes are also pinned on new online shooting game Overwatch. Hearthstone recently saw the release of its first expansion, Goblins vs Gnomes, which introduces over 120 new cards to collect.
