Blizzard Entertainment's latest Warcraft title — HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft — is going mobile.
Blizzard on Wednesday released the free-to-play strategy card game for Apple's iPad, but don't get too excited if you reside in the U.S. because it's only available in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia at this point. On the bright side, Blizzard said iPad support for the rest of the world is "coming soon," and versions for the iPhone, Android devices, and Windows tablets are also in the works.
HearthStone, previously only available for Windows and Mac PCs, lets players choose from one of nine heroes, then take turns playing cards to cast spells, use weapons, or summon characters. Blizzard first unveiled the game last March at PAX East, and launched it in open beta this January before officially releasing it last month.
"Hearthstone's player base has already grown to more than 10 million registered accounts following the official Windows and Mac release, but we saw that a few people online were holding out for the iPad version," Blizzard Entertainment CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime said in a statement. "Instead of calling those folks up individually, we figured we might as well let everyone know that the global iPad rollout for Hearthstone has begun, and pretty soon it'll be available everywhere."
Gamers don't need any previous understanding of strategy card games or Warcraft to play HearthStone; the game teaches you as you go along. Those unwilling to shell out cash for cards can earn them by playing in the freemium model, but should expect slower progress.
"The game is a natural fit for tablets — we encourage everyone to check it out on their couch, in their backyard, in a coffee shop ... or anywhere else they take their iPads," Morhaime said.
For more on HearthStone, check out the video below.