Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’s smartphone launch means big money for Blizzard

After months of waiting, we can finally take Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft with us everywhere in our pockets. And that means more cash for publisher Blizzard’s pockets.

Hearthstone is one of the top-grossing games in several key markets, according to the data firm App Annie. It is the most download iPhone app in eight countries, including South Korea. It is No. 2 in Canada, No. 15 in the United States, and No. 25 in the United Kingdom. On Google Play, which combines downloads for tablets and smartphones, Hearthstone has shot up the charts to reach No. 43 overall in the United States. That’s an impressive debut for a game that was previously only available on PC, Mac, and tablets. Millions of people who have iOS and Android smartphones now have a chance to play it and spend money on it. Revenues for games on smartphones and tablets reached $30 billion last year, and Hearthstone looks like one of the games that will push that even higher in 2015.

On iPhone, Hearthstone is the No. 6 highest-grossing app. It is No. 8 in Canada, No. 17 in the U.S., and No. 22 in the China. It’s even moving up the charts in Japan, where Hearthstone has struggled. In that country, the digital card game is No. 278, which is up 88 places over yesterday. These are the regions that spend the most on mobile games, and Hearthstone has proved that it can capture that revenue on phones in addition to tablets and PC.

Blizzard launched Hearthstone for iPhone and Android smartphones on Tuesday. The early impressions from fans (including some of us here at GamesBeat) is that the interface can occasionally cause you to make some mistakes and the online play can eat through the battery, but it is definitely the full game on a screen that you’ll probably have with you at all times. And that’s something that will benefit Hearthstone.

And now that Hearthstone is out on everything that makes sense, and it looks like it is only going to grow. The publisher has supported its established player base with two adventure packs and one major expansion, but the company will have to keep rolling out new content like that to keep its momentum. Mobile has proven that the top games can make a ton of money — more than a million dollars every day for apps like Clash of Clans — for extended periods of time (Clash of Clans has dominated the top-grossing chart on iOS and Android since 2012). Maybe Hearthstone has that potential, but it will require wise stewardship from Blizzard.