Blizzard unveils free-to-play Warcraft game

Development giant Blizzard is taking its first foray into the free-to-play market with its new game, collectable card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

The new game is being designed as a cross-platform title for Windows, Mac and iPad.

Users will be tasked with building card decks based on one of nine character classes from Warcraft to do battle in turn-based gameplay.

Although no release date has yet to be set, Blizzard said the title would be entering beta testing "very soon".

Develop revealed in February last year that Blizzard’s next major title would be embracing the ever-popular free-to-play business model, with the latest announcement now confirming the report.

At the time, Blizzard had declined to comment.

“We’ve always loved collectible card games at Blizzard, so it’s been exciting to bring everything we love about the genre to life in Hearthstone,” said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime.

“We’re putting a lot of focus into creating a fun new game that’s easy to pick up and play, but also has a lot of depth. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.”