Blizzard has begun the rollout of its digital card game Hearthstone for iPad.
The game sees players take on characters from the World of Warcraft universe and do battle via decks of cards. It's been officially out on PC and Mac since March but fans had been awaiting iOS and Android releases.
Blizzard has kicked off the iOS release by making Hearthstone available for iPad in Australia, Canada and New Zealand with other regions to follow shortly.
Part of the reason for the excitement over a mobile version is that the interface the game uses on PC and Mac is one which would seem to lend itself well to a touchscreen device, dragging cards to the table with a finger rather than a mouse and tapping on the scenery to produce different effects between turns instead of frantically clicking. There's also the appeal of dipping in and out of games and being able to rebuild your decks when you have a spot of downtime.
Blizzard explains that the initial launch is being limited to three countries so the company can test the product and make sure it's ready for global release. The iPad release will use the same login as for the desktop versions meaning custom decks and stats from one device will be shared across the rest.
The company adds, "If you don't live in Australia, Canada, or New Zealand, you don't have much longer to wait to get your hands on Hearthstone for iPad -- Murloc Scout's honor."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
