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Mojang card game 'Scrolls' reborn as 'Caller's Bane'
When Scrolls was hit by a Bethesda lawsuit and its online servers died an ugly death, the future of Mojang's collectible card game was looking rather grim. But Scrolls is still alive, and it's just been rebranded as 'Caller's Bane'. Unlike before, it now costs nothing to play.
'Gwent' revamp will help it take on card game rivals
You'd think that CD Projekt Red would have locked in Gwent's mechanics with an expected launch just months away, but not so -- if anything, it's ready to toss out what many are already taking for granted. The developer has unveiled a revamp (nicknamed Gwent Homecoming) that could shake up fundamental aspects of the game. The initiative will push for both a "complete overhaul of the visual experience" (including a tone more consistent with The Witcher) and, more importantly, key changes to gameplay.
First 'Hearthstone' expansion of 2018 delves into ‘The Witchwood’
Weeks after laying out this year's plan for Hearthstone, Blizzard has announced the first expansion of 2018: The Witchwood. Once it lands, the Year of the Raven will begin -- and all of 2016's cards will be retired from the main Standard format. The haunted forest-themed set will introduce 135 cards and several card types that introduce new styles of play. And like the last two content additions, players will get solo content for free. The announcement didn't give a release date, but if the last two years are any indication, The Witchwood will likely drop next month.
The next ‘Hearthstone’ expansion is a dungeon-delving adventure
Blizzard's free-to-play card game Hearthstone just released its third and final expansion of 2017, Kobolds and Catacombs. Like the other two content releases earlier this year, K&C adds 135 new cards and a few new concepts to shake up play. But most exciting is the new single-player mode that riffs on classic dungeon-delving tabletop adventures. Dive in now: Players get three free card packs plus a random legendary weapon to celebrate the expansion's launch.
‘Hearthstone’s next expansion adds undead fun in icy Northrend
Digital card game Hearthstone started off a new year of themed expansions with April's Journey to Un'goro, adding 135 cards and introducing new concepts to refresh the game. Last night, studio Blizzard announced the second new content block for 2017, Knights of the Frozen Throne, which will launch in August.
'Hearthstone' will release three full expansions in 2017
Blizzard is shaking up its Warcraft-themed digital card game, Hearthstone, with a slew of changes coming this year. Unlike its prior habit of alternating smaller Adventure releases with larger Expansions, 2017 will see three of the latter full-size sets added to the game. But they're also taking away half a dozen cards from the competitive Standard format, including fan favorites Ragnaros the Firelord and Sylvanas. Welcome to the Year of the Mammoth.
Titanfall's mobile debut is a 'Hearthstone' with mechs
If I told you Titanfall was coming to smartphones, what kind of game would you envision? A side-scrolling shoot-em-up similar to Metal Slug? A Titan customization tool? Or a portable-friendly strategy game like Advance Wars? Well, I've got bad news. Titanfall: Frontline is none of those. It's a digital card game similar to Hearthstone. But wait! Before you dive back into Blizzard's tavern, hear Respawn out. The company has teamed up with Nexon, best known for the MMO Maplestory, to build out new cards and mechanics that could feel authentic to the Titanfall universe.
'Battlecast' turns 'Skylanders' into a collectible card game
Activision Blizzard has seen a ton of success with two franchises in recent years: Skylanders, which kicked off the toys-to-life craze, and Hearthstone, which made collectible card games (CCG) accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Now, it's mashing the two together for Skylanders Battlecast, a CCG aimed at children. Announced last summer, it's finally available across North America and Europe from today. Just like regular Skylanders games, Battlecast is very much focused on you buying real-world items. The game itself will be available on iOS or Android (both Google and Amazon flavours) as a free download. To make the most of it, you'll need to buy cards. There are 24 character cards to collect, along with numerous Spell, Gear and Relic cards that will allow you to attack enemies, change stats or modify the playing field. Think Magic: The Gathering's Equipment, Artifacts and Enchantments and you won't be far off.
Gorgeous competitive tactics game 'Duelyst' is out today
Duelyst isn't an eSport -- yet. After six months in a free open beta, Duelyst launches today as a full title that's still free to download across PC and Mac. It comes from Counterplay Games, a studio packed with talent from Diablo 3, League of Legends and Rogue Legacy, and it's a brilliant blend of rapid-fire card gaming, complex tactical combat and squad building, all with a competitive edge. But right now, it isn't an eSport. "We don't consider ourselves an eSport, since that's a very top-down approach and mentality that we don't believe in," Counterplay founder Keith Lee says.
'Hearthstone' update brings drastic changes to the card game
Hearthstone is undergoing some changes in the interest of keeping the digital-trading-card game fresh. But in introducing the "Whispers of the Old Gods" -- expansion out on the 26th -- developer Blizzard is tweaking a bunch of cards and, based on the 5,000-plus comment Reddit thread, this isn't exactly for the better. Fan favorite cards like Molten Giant have gotten a casting cost increase up to 25 from 20, while the Knife Juggler card has had its attack decreased by a point.
Rumor: Leak suggests the next WoW expansion is nearly feature-complete
So, ready to jump on the rumor mill? Because it's churning out big stuff about Blizzard today. An anonymous source from inside the company has apparently claimed that World of Warcraft's next expansion has quadrupled its art outsourcing and is nearly feature-complete. The source also claimed that Hearthstone is doing banner business, with its next expansion set to release in April with a heavier PvE focus. Darker news was revealed for the other franchises under the company's banner. The next part of StarCraft II is done but with no release date. Overwatch is in the midst of debates over business model and payment plans, with the studio pushing for a 2015 release but most likely going for 2016. Meanwhile, Heroes of the Storm has low expectations among the upper management and the Diablo III team has been "completely gutted." It's up to you you believe the rumors, of course, although come April, they might look rather plausible.
Hearthstone now available worldwide on Android devices
After a soft launch in select countries on Android devices, Hearthstone is now available worldwide for Android gamers. To run it, you'll need to have an Android device that's at least 6" or larger. Like the other platform versions, the Android edition of Hearthstone will sync up with your Battle.net account and allow you to use your existing cards (if you have any). Plans are in the works for an Android version to work on smaller-size phones. Hearthstone recently won the award for Massively's Best Pseudo-MMO of 2014. Android players can snag it on Google Play or through Amazon.
Scrolls shuffles out of beta, cuts price to $5
Minecraft developer Mojang launched its latest game, Scrolls, in full today. Scrolls is now available on PC, Mac and Android tablets, with an iPad version expected to arrive "some time in the new year." The card hoarding game pits players against one another on a hexagonal battlefield, earning gold and acquiring spells, enchantments and other strategy-boosting goodies. Scrolls entered open beta in June 2013 for $20, though the developer officially dropped the price of the full game to $5. It announced plans to shift the game's price in September, affirming that those who already bought the game will receive the $20 shard package, giving those players the ability to purchase decks, avatars and new scrolls without any additional cost. Mojang also began offering a free trial version of Scrolls today on all three platforms, for those interested in checking the strategy game out firsthand. [Image: Mojang]
Hearthstone players struggle to buy expansion packs
While a new expansion to the hit card game Hearthstone is cause for much celebration, in some corners it's also been cause for consternation as players have struggled to buy the right packs from the in-game store. This and other expansion issues got so bad, in fact, that getting these CS requests sorted out forced Blizzard to slightly delay Goblins vs. Gnomes' European launch (although it is now live in that region). The problem, as dismayed players and streamers discovered, is that the default pack purchase option in Hearthstone's store was for the base game's cards, not the expansions. Gung-ho players would then accidentally mass-purchase a whole lot of packs thinking that they were from Goblins vs. Gnomes, only to discover that they just wasted hundreds of dollars on cards they already had. Touch Arcade has come to the rescue by pointing to a handy guide how to buy the right packs for the expansion.
Hearthstone expansion now live
Blizzard's first Hearthstone expansion is now live. Goblins vs. Gnomes boasts 120 new cards and "throws a big wrench into the way Hearthstone works," according to CEO Mike Morhaime. Logging into the game between now and December 19th will net you three free expansion card packs. You can obtain additional packs for either 100 in-game gold or real money. [Source: Blizzard press release]
Hearthstone launches Goblins vs. Gnomes on December 8th
It seems as if it was only a month ago that Hearthstone players learned the title of the game's first expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes. Probably because it was a month ago. That expansion is launching on December 8th, adding 120 new cards into the card pool and displaying an alacrity that other Blizzard titles could only dream of achieving. The new expansion cards can be crafted, purchased, or earned via the Arena, just like the existing packs except with new cards. If you're interested in having a launch party, Blizzard is also interested in your launch party. If you plan your event, have it registered as a proper gathering by notifying the community team, and then submit pictures and stories about the event by December 22nd, you could win a little Hearthstone care package. Or you could just kick back and enjoy the new expansion by playing. Your call.
Blizzard issues thousands (more) Hearthstone bot bans
Good news, Hearthstone players. If you've been using a bot to automate your gameplay, you'll log in today to find a shiny new prize! Specifically, that shiny new prize is not being able to log in because you've been banned. Your prize was being banned. Blizzard has awarded this prize to "several thousand" Hearthstone accounts using third-party tools to automate gameplay; the bans are permanent, so no need to worry about losing them at the end of the season. Players who have not been botting and violating the game's TOS will also log in to find a shiny new prize, which is a play environment with far fewer bots. Isn't that nice? The official post reminds players to report suspicious behavior by emailing the development team so that in the future another group of cheaters can wake up to find a brand-new lifetime ban locking them out of the game. Those of you who can still log in may also want to take the opportunity to vote on the next teaser for the Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Blizzard wins lawsuit and shuts down Hearthstone clone
Back in January we reported that Blizzard levied a lawsuit against Unico Interactive for its game, Legend of Crouching Dragon, which Blizzard claimed was a reskinned clone of Hearthstone. It looks as though the courts agreed, awarding Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase $1.6 million due to copyright infringement. Legend of Crouching Dragon has been removed from app stores, and Unico said that it will be reimbursing players for money spent on it to date. Even with the ruling, Unico remains defiant against "false stories" in the press and claims that it hasn't seen any official order to pay compensation to Blizzard.
BlizzCon 2014: Hearthstone: Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion announced
It's about to get all funky and explosive up in Hearthstone. At BlizzCon today, the team announced that the upcoming expansion is called Gobins vs. Gnomes and will be releasing next month. Hearthstone: Goblins vs. Gnomes will contain over 120 new cards that draw upon the innovations of these clever and mad inventors. Two of the cards mentioned were the Explosive Sheep and the Annoy-O-Tron. Currently, the expansion is "in a final balance pass" prior to its December launch. Hearthstone will also be coming out on Android devices next month.
Activision Blizzard earnings bolstered by Destiny and World of Warcraft
Another financial quarter is fading into memory, and that means it's time for another earnings call for Activision. The financials tell a fairly bright story for this particular quarter, with the continued sales of Destiny, overall success of Hearthstone, and the subscriber bump for World of Warcraft pushing the company up in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. Destiny, Activision says, has now racked up 9.5 million registered users. As a result of these figures, the company has increased its overall earnings forecast by two percent, with the upcoming phone releases for Hearthstone, a new Call of Duty title, and the Warlords of Draenor release accounting for the increased profits. You can read the whole thing yourself if you want to take a closer look at the company's financial workings.
