World of Warcraft maker officially announces free-to-play collectible card game for PC, Mac, and iPad; beta begins this summer, with full product out by end of 2013.

BOSTON--Today during a presentation titled "Blizzard Presents" at PAX East, World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment announced HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft, a free-to-play collectible card game for the PC, Mac, and iPad.

Gamers can sign up to beta-test the title today. The beta will launch this summer, while the full game is due out sometime in 2013.

Explaining the game, a Blizzard representative said, "We wanted to do something a little different." The game, described as "really small," was built by a team of 15 developers at the Irvine, California, developer.

HearthStone is focused on one-vs.one matches and uses Battle.net for matchmaking. Players can duel online to boost their medal ranking.

Three hundred total cards, based on the World of Warcraft classes, will be available at launch. Extra packs will be available for purchase, for around $1, Blizzard said.

It appears HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft is far along in development, as Blizzard showed a complete game demo for the game during the presentation today.

This is a breaking news story. Check back later for more information as it becomes available.

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