Despite launching Hearthstone on iPad just several weeks ago, Blizzard already seems to be looking ahead to a possible Hearthstone PS4 and Xbox One release as clear in the images below, despite having categorically denied that they were considering the possibility of a console re-release for the free to play, card-battling title just days before sending this survey to players.
Other questions regarding Hearthstone platforms also seemed to suggest that Blizzard is looking to gauge just how much fans are interested in a tablet version of the game as well as which tablets (and operating systems) that they should optimise for. The company is already known to be working on an Android version but perhaps they would like to know which Android operating system to release the game on, considering that the open-source OS can vary from tablet to tablet.
In addition to platforms, new features were also hinted at, with Hearthstone livestreams being consistently mentioned throughout. Just today, the second season of Hearthstone’s PvP (player versus player) tournament began as players battle it out for a chance to win the highly coveted ‘Black Temple’ card. Perhaps being called ‘Observer’, offering livestream options would also be in line with the current spectator options that other free to play games like League of Legends currently offer. Not only this but given that both the PS4 and Xbox One now allow for Twitch stream viewing and broadcasting, these new features would work in Hearthstone should the game be released on next-gen as suggested.
More features surveyed by Blizzard seemed to be focused on accessibility, particularly in the game’s social and paid-for elements. The ability to replay the tutorial would go a long way to encourage players to invest time in the game and being able to spread the word about the already quite popular title on Twitter, Facebook and on the well-known chat app Kakao Talk would also boost Hearthstone’s numbers.
Meanwhile, once those players are actually in-game, they could find themselves with an array of things to purchase with real cash such as newly themed battle boards to go along with the default ones, new art for playable heroes (again, this is in line with what League of Legends does with its character skins) and even entire new Hearthstone game modes, with “Adventure Mode (Players vs. Environment Challenges)” also being described.
Blizzard has a team of over 4,000 people working on its most popular titles so it’s entirely possible that with that many developers and E3 coming up soon, we’ll hear more about Hearthstone on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as those new features, very soon.
Hearthstone is available now for the PC and iPad.
