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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.
Buy Pokemon XY - Primal Clash cards, get cards for TCG Online
Primal Reversions debuted in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as yet another way to boost the power (and cool factor) of particular Pokemon, and the Pokemon Trading Card Game's upcoming expansions will proceed accordingly. Fresh booster packs and two themed decks under the banner of XY – Primal Clash will shuffle into battle on February 4, 2015, introducing 12 Pokemon-EX cards such as Wailord-EX, Camerupt-EX and Sharpedo-EX. While the Primal Groudon-EX and Primal Kyogre-EX cards seen above will lead themed decks (Earth's Pulse and Ocean's Core, respectively), both the decks and booster packs will reward trainers with codes that unlock digital XY – Primal Clash cards for the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online. With the XY – Primal Clash lineup hosting new Spirit Link, Special Energy, Trainer and effect-granting Ancient Trait cards, there should be a fair amount to add to both physical and digital collections. The Pokemon Trading Card Game Online recently opened a stadium on iPad, but you can also find battlegrounds on PC and Mac. [Image: Pokemon]
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.
HEX releases Shattered Destiny card set
Hearthstone isn't the only online card game that's getting an expansion this week; HEX launched its Shattered Destiny set today, vastly expanding the MMOTCG's play potential. Shattered Destiny, HEX's second set, comes with 200 new cards, five additional heroes, dual-shard cards, dual-socketing, and fun abilities such as tunneling, lethal damage, and skyguard defense. To celebrate the release, HEX is awarding two exclusive alternate-art cards to players who partake in Shattered Destiny-only tournaments this weekend. Whether you're playing or merely interested in what's been added, you can read both the patch notes and the card list for this update.
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 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.
HEX drops beta key requirement but denies status of open beta
A major announcement has been sounded on the HEX forums: No longer will potential players need a beta key to test the game, as that requirement has been dropped as of last week. Cryptozoic claims that this move doesn't signify that the game is in open beta, but merely a way to draw in even more people than ever before. "I bet you're asking yourself why not just call it open beta?," the team posted. "Well, we're not ready to call it open beta. However, we've reached a point in our testing where we needed to increase the volume of players on our servers to provide us with additional information and logs." Splitting hairs over semantics aside, now everyone can check out this unique trading card MMO if so desired. There doesn't appear to be any NDA restriction either, as the devs have encouraged players to stream the game.
BlizzCon kicks off on Friday, virtual tickets still available
If you've been waiting patiently for the next big convention focused entirely around Blizzard's game catalogue, your wait is almost over. BlizzCon 2014 kicks off on Friday, November 7th, with the opening ceremonies starting at 2:00 p.m. EST. There's no chance of attending in person if you don't already have a ticket, but you can still pick up a virtual ticket, and DirecTV customers can also grab a pay-per-view stream that includes a virtual ticket and the associated benefits. The convention will host a variety of tournaments, including the Hearthstone championships, the StarCraft II championships, and the World of Warcraft Arena championship. There will also be the usual assortment of lore panels, development previews, and reveals for the various games under the Blizzard banner, included the much-anticipated Warlords of Draenor expansion. If you've been on the fence about getting a stream, take a look at the list of festivities and get ready to see what's coming from the studio this weekend.
Trademark filings hint at possible Hearthstone expansions
Gamers love to speculate about expansion titles, and with good cause. If an expansion is titled The Battle for the Southern Ridge, well, you can be pretty sure there will be some fighting and you'll be on the southern ridge. If it's titled Steve Gets a Subpoena, you look for a character named steve. This is why particular attention has been paid to two new trademark filings by Blizzard, both of which seem like perfect titles for an upcoming Hearthstone expansion. The names in question are "Eye of Azshara" and "Overwatch." While the latter could apply to many games, the former seems quite clearly aimed at either World of Warcraft or Hearthstone, and it seems even more unlikely that the company would announce the next expansion for World of Warcraft as players are still waiting for Warlords of Draenor. Is it a red herring or harbinger of things to come? We'll know more when BlizzCon takes place later this week.
Turns out Blizzard found more Hearthstone cheaters to ban
Earlier this week, Blizzard banned "several thousand" botter accounts in MMOTCG Hearthstone for the crime of botting. But the bans were only temporary, and the problem players will be back in the game by the turn of the year. The subjects of a new wave of bans, says Blizzard, won't be let off so easily. Community Manager Whirthun told forumgoers last night that win traders have and will continue to be banned -- permanently: We've recently banned Hearthstone accounts that were found to be participating in win trading. Win trading at any rank is something that we do not take lightly, and is in violation of our Terms of Use. As we mentioned in our previous statement regarding fair play in Hearthstone, instances of cheating will not be tolerated. Accounts that were discovered participating in win trading have received permanent account closure and disqualification from events where ranking is used as a method of qualification. Win trading is an exploit of the matchmaking system to position accounts for easy ladder climbing. PC Gamer reports that several big-name Hearthstone players have already fallen to the ban, including a grey hat player who went public with the exploit nearly a year ago in the hopes of provoking Blizzard to fix it.
Blizzard mass-bans Hearthstone cheaters
Last night, Blizzard announced that it's brought the banhammer down on cheaters in its MMOTCG, Hearthstone. "Several thousand" botter accounts have been banned for the next two months, though the studio warns it won't be so lenient next time: We've recently banned several thousand Hearthstone accounts that were associated with the use of third-party programs that automate gameplay, otherwise known as "bots" or "botting." These accounts will be banned until 2015. As we've stated, fair play is at the core of the Hearthstone experience, and cheating and botting will not be tolerated. We're committed to creating a fun and rewarding environment for our players, and we will continue to closely monitor activities within Hearthstone and take appropriate action against cheating in any form, as outlined in our Terms of Use. From this point on, accounts found to be cheating will be permanently closed without warning. Blizzard encourages players who encounter exploits to contact the hacks team; those who believe they've been wrongly banned can appeal their ban through the customer service department. [We've corrected our original story, which directed folks to the hacks team for all issues.]
Blizzard gives thousands of Hearthstone bots the boot
"Several thousand" bots have been banned from Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft recently, Blizzard revealed in a Battle.net blog. The developer found that the accounts were associated with third-party programs that automate actions within the game, and they will now be banned from the game until 2015. "As we've stated, fair play is at the core of the Hearthstone experience, and cheating and botting will not be tolerated," the developer said. "From this point on, accounts found to be cheating will be permanently closed without warning." Hearthstone players that believe they've encountered an exploitative account in the game are encouraged to report it to the developer at hacks@blizzard.com. The popular digital card game will reach Android tablets by the end of the year with Android smartphones and iPhone following in early 2015. [Image: Blizzard]
Hearthstone shuffles to iPhone, Android phones in early 2015
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will reach iPhone and Android phones in early 2015, Blizzard revealed in a blog today. The developer said it is close to issuing versions of the collectible card game to smartphone players, but that "it's become clear that we need a little more time to get that version right." As a result, the small-screen smartphone version of Hearthstone won't be available until "early next year." As of September, Blizzard expected those versions to arrive by the end of the year, which is when it still plans on launching on Android tablets. "One of the biggest challenges with that is revamping the user interface so it feels intuitive and offers the same quality Hearthstone experience, but this time from the palm of your hand," the developer added. The CCG based on the World of Warcraft universe has already became mighty popular without getting a glimpse of the Google Play store: The free PC and iPad game reached 20 million downloads in September, and Blizzard also revealed that over two billion hours of the game have been played to date. Hearthstone began receiving its multi-part "Curse of Naxxramas" single-player expansion in July. [Image: Blizzard Entertainment]
RuneScape getting Hearthstone treatment with new card game
RuneScape developer Jagex revealed a new complementary game to the studio's MMO today, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends. Set in RuneScape's primary world, Gielinor, the game is of the collectible card-battling variety and "focuses on quest building, allowing players to craft their own miniature RPGs against enemies." The game first debuted at Jagex's RuneFest event in London over the weekend, and the developer said it's been quietly working on Chronicle: RuneScape Legends "since the start of the year." Jagex's announcement follows the recent success of Blizzard's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, a card game based on the World of Warcraft universe. Hearthstone reached 20 million players as of September on PC, Mac and mobile platforms. Likewise, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends will launch in 2015 for PC and Mac as well as mobile and tablet devices. [Image: Jagex]
RuneScape announces Hearthstone-like card game
Hearthstone's success is hard to ignore in the industry, and it doesn't take much effort to connect the dots between that title's growth and Jagex's decision to develop an in-game card battler for RuneScape. The UK-based studio announced that it's making Chronicle: RuneScape Legends to be played inside of its popular MMO. Chronicle takes place inside a "magical book" that challenges players to use deck-building to create quests that can be completed through PvE and PvP card battles. "Your opponent will be creating quests in parallel with you, but watch out as they might try to steal your weapons or gold," the website states. "At the end of your quests you do battle, with the last person standing the victor!" According to Eurogamer, Jagex has been working on Chronicle since the beginning of the year to be released sometime in 2015 for the PC, Mac, and mobile devices. Chronicle is currently accepting beta sign-ups.
Blizzard posts official BlizzCon schedule
You've got your tickets purchased, your hotel arrangements squared away, your bags all packed. You're ready for BlizzCon this year! But leaving aside the fact that you can probably unpack your bags now as you've still got a month to go, what are you actually going to be doing at BlizzCon? That's what you can find out by taking a gander at the official schedule, which tracks the events of the day on both Friday and Saturday for World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Hearthstone, and Diablo III. A floor map is also available so that congoers can get a feel for the layout before arrival, although that's of less interest to fans planning on taking advantage of the streaming options available for the convention. If you're thinking of buying a virtual ticket for the high-quality streams, take a look at the schedule and see if it's stuff you want to watch streaming live. Unless, as we said, you've already got your bags packed to go in person.