Here be dragons!
After weeks of waiting, it’s time to conquer Blackrock Mountain (and we can help you with that with our guide). Blizzard has unleashed the latest, dragon-themed add-on for its Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft collectible card battler today. You can download the first of five wings (or episodes) right now, and the publisher will release a new part of the quest weekly until the adventure is complete. Individual wings cost $7, but you can prepurchase the entirety of Blackrock Mountain for $25 and save a few bucks. Hearthstone is doing booming business for Blizzard as it is one of the top-grossing mobile games on iOS and Android, and it’s extremely popular on PC as well.
Like the previous adventure mode, Blackrock Mountain is a single-player add-on that has players taking on computer-controlled bosses, earning new cards as you battle. In total, this downloadable content includes 31 completely new cards. That makes it unlike the recent Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion, which includes dozens of new cards that you primarily need to purchase through booster packs (or earn as Arena rewards).
New content like this is one of the major ways that Blizzard is working to keep Hearthstone fresh. This is the company’s first go at a free-to-play and mobile game, and it has proven that it knows what it takes to keep the action feeling fresh for fans.
As a result, on iOS alone (where the game is only available on iPad), Hearthstone is one of the top-100 highest-grossing apps in 79 countries, according to App Annie. In South Korea, it is No. 8, in the U.K. it’s No. 12, and in the United States it’s No. 25. These are massive markets worth a ton of money, and it doesn’t even include PC or Android sales.
Those figures also don’t include Blackrock Mountain. As you might expect, an add-on like this will not only create additional spending, but it will also bring back lapsed players. In addition, it will likely attract new gamers who see their friends getting into it.