Hearthstone hits 70 million players, gives everyone three free packs to celebrate

Journey to Un'Goro, we said last week, "is Hearthstone's best expansion since the League of Explorers." And it seems that we're not the only ones to think so. Blizzard revealed on Battle.net today that more than 70 million players have now signed up for Hearthstone, and that following the launch of Un'Goro it had "more players playing together on the same day—around the whole world—than at any point in its history!"

"We’re humbled and grateful that so many players have chosen to join us for some Hearthstone fun," the studio wrote. "As our way of saying thanks, starting today through the end of May, everyone who logs in will receive three free Journey to Un’Goro card packs. Yup! Everyone! Even new players! Just log in to claim your bonus packs!"

It's a nice gesture, even if it is perhaps motivated in part by complaints, as Tim mentioned in his Un'Goro overview, that Hearthstone is becoming a little more expensive to play than some folks like. It's an issue that Brian Kibler dug into in more detail in a recent Omnislash video, in which he said that while the actual cost of Hearthstone hasn't changed (for American players, at least), there's a perception of an increase due to "the shift to three expansions per year"—although that doesn't have any impact on how much it costs to simply play Journey to Un'Goro.

In April, a Redditor ran the numbers and found that it costs an average of $400 to complete the new set.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.