Blizzard has announced the first expansion pack for its virtual trading card game Hearthstone at BlizzCon 2014 in Anaheim, California.
The new Gnomes Vs Goblins expansion pack will be released next month and will include 120 "explosive" new cards for players to use in games against each other. BlizzCon attendess, however, will be able to play the new expansion this weekend as it's being demoed on the convention floor.
Hearthstone's Production Director, Jason Cheyes, unveiled the expansion and showed off a couple of new cards in the virtual deck.
Since they're based on the steampunk tinkering races in World Of Warcraft - the Gnomes and the Goblins - most of them sound suitably chaotic. One card, Explosive Sheep, deals 2 damage to all enemies in play. Another, the Annoy-O-Tron, is a Taunt that disrupts the in-game action.
Players will be able to earn the new Hearthstone cards by competing in arena matches or they can buy them with either in-game gold or real-world money. No prices for the new cards were announced at BlizzCon, but they're expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Reyes said that the unqualified success Hearthstone had become on PC and iPad had prompted Blizzard to bring the game to Android devices next year. However, there were no announcements concerning a possible iPhone version, which industry pundits say they expect will be released in 2015.
Hearthstone is also fast becoming a fixture on the gaming eSports circuit, with the first championships being played out at BlizzCon this weekend.