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Many players frustrated with the new @PlayHearthstone rewards system seem to be under the impression that 'Hearthstone is dead' and Blizzard is 'milking the whales that are left'.
I'd like to present some actual data to combat some of the misinformation being spread around.
1/7
I'd like to present some actual data to combat some of the misinformation being spread around.
1/7
I'll preface this by saying that I am, as most of you know, part of the @HSReplayNet team and therefore have a vested interest in this matter.
With that said, I will try to present the data I have access to as faithfully and impartially as I can. Let's dive into it.
(cont.)
With that said, I will try to present the data I have access to as faithfully and impartially as I can. Let's dive into it.
(cont.)
Here are the number of games for each of the main game modes during the *first week* of the last expansion of each Hearthstone year, as recorded by @HSReplayNet.
(cont.)
(cont.)
A few things to keep in mind when deriving insights form these these numbers:
1. @HSReplayNet doesn't have observe all Hearthstone games and players, but our sample size should be large enough to infer things about the total population.
(cont.)
1. @HSReplayNet doesn't have observe all Hearthstone games and players, but our sample size should be large enough to infer things about the total population.
(cont.)
2. We might have grown the Hearthstone Deck Tracker user base at a higher pace than Hearthstone during this timespan, increasing the percentage of all Hearthstone matches we observe - potentially skewing the numbers.
(cont.)
(cont.)
3. HDT users may favor certain game modes at a different rate than the total Hearthstone population, making them seem more/less popular than they actually are.
4. Since this is the first expansion released in November, this may also play a part.
(cont.)
4. Since this is the first expansion released in November, this may also play a part.
(cont.)
At the end of the day we can't say for sure whether the number of Hearthstone players has been declining recently, but our data seems to indicate that the game is far from dead - if not still growing.
/fin
/fin
Lastly, I'll add my personal opinion on the matter in case anyone cares: I like the new rewards track as a concept and I believe it has the potential to be a positive thing for the game, but the rewards still need to be increased substantially - especially with +35 cards per set.
