Hearthstone on the Nintendo Switch? It might not be as far fetched as you think.
In an interview at BlizzCon, Hearthstone senior game designer Peter Whalen definitely sounded open to the possibility of making it happen.
“I don’t think anyone is working on it, but I wouldn’t rule it out either.” Whalen told Trusted Reviews. “Moving to tablets and phones was awesome. It made Hearthstone way more accessible for way, way more people, which is fantastic.”
“If there are other consoles or platforms that are good for us then that’s absolutely something we’d explore in time.”
Sure, it’s not anything like a confirmation or an announcement. It’s more a restatement of Blizzard’s philosophy on Hearthstone—make it as available and portable as possible. The Nintendo Switch might be a slightly weird home for it, obviously the game has no use for any of the traditional controls. But in handheld mode the touch screen is definitely as good as any modern phone.
Hearthstone is one of the most flexible games out there at the moment when it comes to platforms. Initially available on PC, it’s now on PC, Mac, Android, iOS, and Windows tablets. The game is also totally cross-platform, meaning you could be playing on your phone on the bus to work against someone sitting in front of their gaming PC.
Mobile gaming has been incredibly lucrative for Hearthstone. Mobile revenue has even outstripped desktop income at some points in the game’s history—although it has dropped considerably this year.
So as for the Nintendo Switch, it’s a definite maybe. Don’t expect to see it any time soon, but Blizzard is surely monitoring the success of Nintendo’s latest console. The console is expected to have sold 14 million units by the end of 2017, which would exceed the total lifetime sales of the Wii U.
