This far from our first rodeo with developer Blizzard over their hit digital collectible card game Hearthstone, and I’m sure it is far from the last. But one question has continually popped up throughout the game’s lifespan – will it be coming to consoles? According to a statement made to DualShockers, we should not be getting our hopes up for that port in 2018.
In a conversation with Senior Producer Yong Woo and Game Director Ben Brode, DualShockers asked if 2018’s newly revealed Year of the Raven would be the season that Hearthstone would make the jump to consoles. Predictably, both Woo and Brode mirrored that there is nothing to be announced for Nintendo Switch, PS4, or Xbox One.
This shouldn’t catch many who follow the scene as a huge surprise. While there had been rumors kicking around that Hearthstone may be making the jump to Nintendo Switch, a principal game designer – Dean Ayala – confirmed to other outlets that there are no plans to move the hit title to Nintendo Switch.
And while no developer should feel forced to make a port to any console, the idea isn’t entirely absurd. Blizzard has a long history with working on current generation consoles – both Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition and Overwatch remain wildly successful for console standards, still remaining relevant as much as half-a-decade after release. Not only that, but other CCG-based titles – for instance, CD Projekt Red’s Gwent – has boasted success when releasing on PlayStation 4, likely filling the Hearthstone console gap.
Blizzard’s Hearthstone is available immediately on Android, iOS, and PC – and has been since early 2014. It was revealed earlier today that 2018 will be the Year of the Raven, adding three new expansions, reworking reward tiers, and shifting (read as “retiring”) over some fan-favorite cards into the Hall of Fame.