Smartphone version of Hearthstone will support crossplay
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will support crossplay and contain all of the same features that are on the versions currently available on PC, Mac and tablets. Lead designer Eric Dodds has revealed in an interview with Gamespot that smartphone users will experience the same game as other players and will be able to compete with others who are using any other version of the game.
“It will be your exact same account, so all your cards on tablet or PC will be available on your phone too. You start a match on a phone, you could be playing someone on another phone, someone on a tablet, on a PC, who knows? It’s all one big ecosystem.”
He also moved to ease fears that the game would be a huge drain on the battery of smartphones, limiting the ability of users to play it regularly. Speaking in the interview, Dodds stated: “One thing we’re constantly thinking about is how to make the most of the phone’s battery.”
Whenever Hearthstone does release on smartphones, it will also come with all the content that is available in other versions of the title, including the large expansion pack that was released last year. Goblins vs Gnomes launched in December of 2014 and added more than 100 additional cards to the game. Blizzard also have another expansion that is set to arrive in April called Blackrock Mountain.
The strategy card game has been available on Android tablets and the iPad for several months now, although a smartphone version appears no closer to release. Blizzard originally said that the title would be available on such devices early in 2015 but have since stated that players can expect it to release later in the year. Hearthstone originally launched on the PC on March 11, 2014.
The developer has previously said that the delay is mainly due to the fact that it is difficult to get the cards and images to display properly across a range of devices that can have a wide range of screen sizes. They have also put a lot of effort into making the game as easy to play on a handheld device as it is on PC, which has also taken a significant amount of time.