Hearthstone comes from the same video game company that gave us Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft – Blizzard. In 2021, over 800,000 people play Overwatch daily. Okay, so how many people play Hearthstone? Believe it or not, for Hearthstone being a card game, the amount of active players is astonishing. The question is exactly how many players play Hearthstone, and why is it so popular?
The Player Count in 2022
In case you don’t realize it, Hearthstone was released by Blizzard Entertainment back in 2014. Originally, the game was named Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, making it obvious that is belonged to the Warcraft series. Currently, Hearthstone is available on PC, mobile, and MacOS. Before Hearthstone was introduced to the world, Magic: The Gathering was the most popular card game.
Okay, so how many active players does Hearthstone have in 2021? Looking at the active players count for July 2021, Hearthstone has between 150,000 and 280,000 active players.
#18 on Twitch in April 2022
In July 2021, Hearthstone actually ranked number eighteen on Twitch. Hearthstone is one of the most watched fantasy card games in the world in July of 2021, which is why it ranked in the top 20 most watched games on the Twitch platform. Each week, there was around 4 million hours of Hearthstone being streamed on Twitch across 165 Hearthstone Twitch channels.
Why is Hearthstone So Popular?
So the main question is – why is Hearthstone so popular? I mean, isn’t it just a fantasy card game? Who would want to play with digital cards, when these type of games are best played with cards right in front of you? Well, as it turns out, a lot of people do, actually.
Hearthstone isn’t the first digital trading card game. However, it’s the first to draw so much attention from the gaming community. It’s obvious that Blizzard know exactly what it takes to make a game that keeps people coming back. It’s not a bad idea to look at Hearthstone and see exactly what makes it different from the rest of the games and what makes it one of the most popular games in 2021.
1. Free-to-Play
First of all, the fact that Hearthstone is free-to-play might just have something to do with it. In this day and age, many free-to-play games will give you a “watered-down” version that in the end will require you to pay for the game in order to get the full experience.
However, Heartstone doesn’t do this, with Hearthstone, you get the full-version without ever having to pay a penny. Now, you’re more than welcome to put actual money towards the game to get some new card pack, but you’re rarely (if ever) going to feel a disadvantage if you don’t put money towards it. You see, Heartstone will give you the opportunity to purchase card packs just by playing the game.
Mind you, it may take longer for you to get new cards, but it sure does beat having to put real money towards it and in the end, when you get new cards from playing the game, you will feel as if you actually earned them, and this is an achievement.
2. It’s Easy to Get Going
When you compare Magic the Gathering with Hearthstone, they’re two trading card games that are similar, but you will notice that they are both fun and there is plenty of depth to both of them. However, when it comes to which one of these games are more likely to be played by youngsters, or people that aren’t familiar with these type of card games, the answer would have to be Heartstone.
Hearthstone is a great beginner card game as it is easy to get going. Whereas, Magic the Gathering, on the other hand will have different mechanics, rules, and so on. There’s nothing wrong with this, but Hearthstone just has a better entry point.
3. The Games are Short and Sweet
As long as you have 10-15 minutes to spare, then you can play a game of Hearthstone. Blizzard designed this game so that it is not only easy to get started, but it is also fast-paced. Most card games will require long sessions in order to complete a game, but not Hearthstone and this is how Blizzard intended it to be when they designed it.
Playing short games are great because it will leave you feel as if you got more out of the time you spent playing them. When you manage to get four or so games in an hour, you’re going to have more fun and earn even more in-game currency than you would have it you were to play a single game in one hour.
4. You Can Play it On Your Tablet
As long as you have an iPad or Android tablet, you will be able to play Hearthstone. While others would tell you the best way to play this game would be on your computer, being able to lay in bed while putting in a couple of matches is great. All you have to do is tap on the card, and this can be don while relaxing.
Plus, it’s great that you can play the game while you’re out and about. If you spend a lot of time commuting, this is the game to play. Whether you’re enjoying your lunch break, hanging out at the local coffee shop or riding in a taxi, Hearthstone will only be a couple of taps away.
5. Opening Card Packs is Exciting
I don’t know about you, but there’s a real sense of excitement every time I get a new card pack to open, because you never really know what you’re going to get. In fact, it almost feels as if you’re opening up actual card. As you cross your fingers, you open up the pack, hoping to see at least one card that is going to improve your deck.
Then, you spot that very rare card out of the corner of your eyes and you start to jump for joy. Oh year, opening up card packs is very exciting.
Conclusion
Why is Hearthstone so popular? Maybe there’s no rocket science behind it – perhaps the reason is simply because it is downright fun to play and Blizzard just knows how to make games addicting. What about you, what’s your favorite part of playing Hearthstone and why did you start playing it to begin with?
