Blizzard Announces Free-to-Play Card Game HearthStone

During a PAX East presentation entitled 'Blizzard Presents' the developer announced their first ever free-to-play title HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft.

The game is a collectable card based strategy title and was created by a "really small" team of 15 developers. "We wanted to do something a little different," said a Blizzard representative. 

"We've always loved collectible card games at Blizzard, so it's been exciting to bring everything we love about the genre to life in HearthStone," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment in a press release. "We're putting a lot of focus into creating a fun new game that's easy to pick up and play, but also has a lot of depth. We can't wait to share it with everyone."

Players are promised "powerful pre-built decks and hundreds of additional cards to win, craft or purchase – your collection will never stop evolving."

The game is described as "deceptively simple, insanely fun" and a "fast-paced strategy card game for everyone."

HearthStone is due to be released later this year and you can currently enroll for the game's beta. The title is being developed for PC and Mac with an iPad version set to follow. 

Separately at PAX East Blizzard will allow members of the public to play the PS3 version of Diablo III for the first time.