Blizzard’s popular digital collectable card game Hearthstone celebrates 100 Million players since its launch in 2014. The free-to-play game based on the popular Warcraft property will feature some special in-game events and content as part of the celebrations.
J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment, released a statement on the milestone.
“Reaching 100 million players is a huge milestone for Hearthstone, but what matters to us even more is the fact that so many people around the world have embraced the spirit of the game,” he said. “Whether at events like Blizzcon and Fireside Gatherings or just in tuning in to watch their favorite streamers, it’s been so inspiring to see millions of players and fans coming together, online and in real life, to participate in the Hearthstone community.”
Blizzard credits the success of Hearthstone is due to its accessibility and charm. The colorful nature of the game as well as limiting players to pre-generated voice lines are attributed to keeping the game as good-natured fun. The studio said this this helps Hearthstone appeal to a larger audience than some other digital card games.
It also boasts an easy to learn, difficult to master experience and Blizzard has continued to implement new cards and strategies with each expansion. Rastakhan’s Rumble is the next expansion and was announced at this year’s Blizzcon.
Other initiatives such as the in real life Firesides Gatherings encourage new players to become a part of the larger community. Blizzard states that 2,655 Fireside Gatherings are held each month on average all over the world with over 23,000 occurring so far this year.
Logging into Hearthstone between November 8 and 11 will allow players to participate in the 100 Million Players celebration event. This will grant six free card packs from The Boomsday Project expansion. Players will also have access to special “Celebrate the Players” quests giving them the opportunity to earn 500 gold to use at their choosing.
