Hearthstone will not be making its way to the iPhone and smartphones running the Android system this year. It is expected to be released for Android tablets later this year.
Many had expected that a release of the free card game Hearthstone for iPhone and Android would be announced at Blizzcon in a few weeks. Blizzard is surprising us and letting the cat out of the bag earlier.
Blizzard invites users to a fireside chat in a blog post and talks about the future of the game. They are very pleased with how it is going (after all, 20 million people are playing it) and shares what has already been accomplished this year. Towards the end of the post, they come to the “Hogger” in the room: the port to mobile platforms. Many gamers have been waiting for this for a long time, as Hearthstone is an ideal game for on-the-go play. A game of Hearthstone could comfortably bridge many bus rides or breaks. And for owners of Android tablets, the wish will also be fulfilled in 2014. They are ready and just need to finalize a few details. This is expected to be accomplished this year.
Blizzard needs more time to bring Hearthstone to the iPhone
The port to smartphones, which fans desire the most, will not be available until early 2015. The reason is the significantly smaller displays of the phones:
„We need a bit more time to get this version right. Although we have a functional internal version, we believe it’s unrealistic to expect that we can share it with you before early next year. It’s very important to us that the Hearthstone experience on mobile devices is as accessible as the tablet and PC versions. One of the biggest challenges is redesigning the user interface so that it is intuitive while delivering the same great Hearthstone experience, all in your hands.”
They would rather take more time to address the special requirements of the small screen than simply release a port that does not take these into account, they say.
