Today, Hearthstone features a vast breadth of digital cards to collect, on top of several wildly different PvE and PvP modes. Expansions make up the majority of Hearthstone’s updates that coincide with bug fixing, balance, and content updates. Modes like Tavern Brawl and Arena help serve as a testing ground for off-meta cards and builds found within each expansion’s 100 to 200 card sets. Hearthstone even features adventure-themed single-player content that offers players new experiences against AI opponents. It’s the near-constant addition of new modes, expansions, and card sets that keep Hearthstone continually relevant and profitable amidst its digital CCG peers.
RELATED: Hearthstone Designers Explain Why Murder at Castle Nathria Won’t Have Solo Content
Player Feedback Has Helped Blizzard Keep Hearthstone Relevant
Hearthstone’s continued success can be attributed to its developers listening and anticipating player feedback. This allowed Blizzard to constantly change aspects of the CCG that may have worked well initially but would hurt newer players—sometimes to veteran’s ire over time. Still, over the years, those changes needed to happen for Hearthstone to maintain balanced metas and engaging content for all old and new players. In 2020, Blizzard buckled down on this developmental concept and expanded the game into a platform for new modes that fundamentally changed how players interact with the still-popular CCG.
For example, the mode Battlegrounds, released in November 2019, is an auto-battler following Teamfight Tactics and Dota Underlord’s success and features cards and mechanics utterly separate from the standard one-on-one battles of Hearthstone’s original modes. Later, in October 2021, a brand-new mode let players take characters they were familiar with and use them as minions in a party-based, turn-based, roguelike mode called Mercenaries. With new ways to play came new ways to earn for Blizzard, and it pivoted over the years to take advantage of money-making trends in free-to-play games—trends like a free and paid battle pass system. Thanks to that willingness to adapt, on top of creative leadership changes, Hearthstone remains one of Activision-Blizzard’s biggest yearly earners.
The Impact of Hearthstone’s Monetization
The innovation around building a platform of new gameplay concepts, coupled with regular expansions and balance updates, proves Blizzard’s consistent intentions for Hearthstone’s future. In contrast, Overwatch started as a buy-to-play title and then decided to become free-to-play later to give Blizzard more monetization opportunities. While Hearthstone started as a free-to-play title and remains free today, many players don’t like how Blizzard recently monetized several aspects of the digital CCG. From adding a pay-to-win element with Battlegrounds to a new premium Hearthstone currency called Runestones, Blizzard keeps finding new ways to make money, meaning Hearthstone doesn’t need a successor to remain a profitable IP.
It is unfortunate that the simple inclusion of a premium currency in a mobile game like Hearthstone could result in predatory monetization practices. In comparison, there is no better example of anti-consumer monetization than Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s mobile adaption of the Diablo franchise that costs over $100,000 to fully deck out just one character. Hopefully, Blizzard will stick to what it knows will keep players happy, rather than overreaching and turning fans against the game. Further Hearthstone monetization likely all but guarantees there won’t be a sequel; it would just be a shame if Blizzard alienated Hearthstone’s player base in the process.
Hearthstone is available now for Mobile and PC.
MORE: Hearthstone March of the Lich King Patch Notes Detail New Content Coming with Set Launch
