Blizzard Sues Over HearthStone Clone, Intros Open Beta
Blizzard is suing the developer behind Legend of Crouching Dragon.
Just two days ago, Blizzard announced that its online card game HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available in North America as an open beta. Previously, the game was in a Closed Beta Test, and the company now promises that there will be no more card wipes for those participants.
"It's been a crazy past few months for all of us on the HearthStone team. We announced Hearthstone at PAX East back in March, began the Closed Beta Test in August, had a blast at BlizzCon with the Innkeeper's Invitational, and we were excited to announce Android and iPhone support. Now we're ready to unleash the awesomeness of Hearthstone to you with Open Beta," reads the company blog.
The update adds that Blizzard plans to extend the open beta to other regions within the next few days, so stay tuned. Blizzard also points out that the Open Beta doesn't mean the HearthStone team is completely done: they'll closely monitor many aspects of the game to ensure a positive play experience.
Gamers should also keep in mind that Blizzard is keeping an eye on server traffic as well, and may need to restrict access for new players at times to ensure a smooth experience and until the servers can take on the extra load. To check out Blizzard's new card game, head here.
Meanwhile, Gamespot reports that Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase have filed a lawsuit against developer Unico over the mobile card game Legend of Crouching Dragon. The lawsuit seeks ¥10 million (around $1.65 million) in damages, and requests the closing of Legend of Crouching Dragon based on infringement of Blizzard's intellectual property rights.
"I am aware of another game that is infringing on our HearthStone intellectual property, and so our legal department is taking legal action against that to protect our intellectual property," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime back in November during BlizzCon.
Legend of Crouching Dragon, developed for Android and iOS, currently isn't available to download. However, those who downloaded and installed the game before it was pulled can still play. The game allegedly contains assets and gameplay that are noticeably similar to Blizzard's free-to-play card game. Even the logos look very similar.
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Currently, Blizzard has not responded to press inquiries regarding the lawsuit.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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facevalue Could it possibly be a Chinese clone?Place your bets on what happens.. Mine's that their gov't will be "no, it's nothing like your game. No infringement"Reply -
icemunk Reply12528184 said:well it does say 10 million yen and last time i looked china did not use yen
Actually, the ¥ symbol is used for both Japanese Yen, and Chinese Yuan. In this article, the ¥ is converted to USD, and is approx. 0.17 cents per Chinese Yuan; so in this instance, they are using Yuan. Japanese Yen are only worth 1 cent. -
ddpruitt ReplyBlizzard is suing the developer behind Legend of Crouching Dragon.Just two days ago, Blizzard announced that its online card game HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available in North America as an open beta.
Anyone else notice that the writing skills of the editors on Tom's have gone completely to hell? Headline is one one order, article is in another. -
X79 Pretty cool. I'm sure we'll see lots of very interesting youtube videos on the subject...Reply
Not least people pretending to be animals and vice versa. -
deftonian Reply
You may want to edit yourself before posting a rant on bad editing.Blizzard is suing the developer behind Legend of Crouching Dragon.Just two days ago, Blizzard announced that its online card game HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available in North America as an open beta.
Anyone else notice that the writing skills of the editors on Tom's have gone completely to hell? Headline is one one order, article is in another. -
Draven35 Wait, you mean one person wrote the article and someone else may have written the title? Unpossible!Reply