The fall of #HGC and how I'll move on from now.

(TLDR at the bottom of this post)



This is the first TwitLonger post that I've ever made. I'm usually not the type of person that portraits their emotions too publicly. However, with the most recent events surrounding the game that I've dedicated the last 4 years of my life, has triggered me to do so.



As you all have heard by now, Blizzard (Activision) is no longer supporting Heroes of the Storm esports in 2018. Furthermore, the "cadence" in which new content is released will be different. That, to me, is basically a euphemism of saying "we'll slow things down to save money". That's fair and square. After all, Blizzard (Activision) needs to make money and survive in the global market. Whether it's a smart move to do it the way they did (or the way they managed the whole Diablo fiasco at BlizzCon) is a different story.



Over night, after weeks and weeks of waiting and hoping, dozens of players, commentators, production employees and others lost their job. I belong to one of those people, having casted HGC China with Tetcher for close to 2 years consecutively now. Some of you may smile about HGC China and not consider it the "real" HGC, and a lot of people never ceased to produce exactly that attitude, but think about Chinese Heroes of the Storm what you will - it is ironically now the only region left with a competitive scene, as NetEase earlier announced that they would continue a professional league in 2019. Whether Blizzard (Activision) has enough budget or interest left to provide an English stream for it, who knows. Both Tetcher and I would be more than glad and available to bring HGC China to the fans in 2019. I don't expect it to happen though.



I've always been very very critical about the way the HGC was managed. The idea behind it - legendary. Great. The execution - very very questionable. I don't want to bash on the people who were in charge, that would not be fair. But so much could have been done better. I'll mention only a few things that with additional effort - in my opinion - could have been improved. The music (come on, switch it up, make it hype already!). The attire (never been a fan of the overly formal dress code). The format (*cough BlizzCon*). The coverage (YouTube thumbnails just to mention one thing, come on). And more. What I strictly DO NOT want to bash is the outstanding (!!!) performance of every single commentator, production crew member, and player.



Next to being a commentator/host for HGC China and other Heroes esports gigs (had many in 2016, not so many in 2017, and almost none in 2018 which is completely fine) I am also a full-time streamer for the game. Now, here comes the tricky part. Can you make a comfortable and profitable living being a streamer that streams a game that has no pro scene? Yes and no. There are pros and cons to continue streaming Heroes of the Storm atm in my opinion, although only time will tell which side will dominate.



The Pros:



- Just because a game doesn't have a serious competitive scene, doesn't mean it can't be successful on twitch (Path of Exile, Fortnite, GTA V, just to mention a few)

- Now that most pro players are going to abandon the game and stop streaming it, competition on twitch could diminish

- There's still a large percentage of players who don't and never cared about esports too much in the first place and will gladly continue watching Heroes of the Storm on twitch

- Blizzard (Activision) could still decide to do twitch drops every now and then to boost viewership short-term

- I still love the game and will definitely have a good time streaming it even without esports (and that is an important one!)



The Cons:



- The way Blizzard (Activision) dealt with the whole HGC situation was far from optimal, Heroes of the Storm likely won't recover from the damage their own makers have inflicted onto its reputation

- Thus, viewership will likely decrease over time (unless there is new and frequent content on the horizon, due to the changed "cadence" of releases, that is questionable)

- What motivation is there now to get better at the game? True, most of us would never become as good as the pros, but the HGC served as role model to strive for, as a vessel to draw inspiration and motivation from

- There is only so much energy and time you can invest into a game that has never had an easy standing in the genre with both League and DOTA 2 towering at the top, even if I put all my heart into it, would it be worth the effort? Couldn't I achieve more by trying other games?



As you can see, there are arguments both in favor and against streaming Heroes of the Storm full-time with an all-out dedication in 2019. But this where every streamer, every player, every former HGC fan needs to decide for themselves. My decision is the following:



I won't abandon Heroes of the Storm in 2019. Not immediately. I still believe in the game, I still enjoy the game, I still love the game despite all its shortcomings. I do believe that a game can be successful even without an esports scene. As a MOBA, a genre built to be competitive, that is a bit more difficult, however, than let's say a Battle Royale or an MMO. I will very likely check out other games, perhaps even other MOBAs, and I will most certainly wait for WarCraft 3: Reforged. WarCraft 3 has been the only game I've ever loved more than Heroes. Let's see and hope that this romance can be reignited.



Last but not least I'd like to give shout outs to all the awesome people involved in Heroes of the Storm in one way or another, be it as a fan, a (pro) player, a caster, or a Blizzard (Activision) employee. There are simply too many people to name, so I'll have to limit myself to a few:



Hoss, without you I'd never started casting Heroes, I would have never been able to form the Hotslogs Elite and beat AlexTheProG in the Alpha. GG friend, your BW is still legendary!)



Tetcher, my long time HGC China partner in crime. A wonderful human being, a super talented caster, and hopefully a legendary voice actor one day. We'll work together in the future, of that I'm sure of! <3



Kaelaris, man dude. What a legend. Heroes was blessed to have him. Without him I would have never gone to any offline events. I would have never learned anything about how to successfully work at an esports event. A big source of inspiration and a friend. Lil'Ginger stay awesome my dude.



Grubby, thanks for always laughing at my dad jokes. Hope to see you again in WC3:R one way or the other. You're one of the most impressive personalities I've ever had the chance to meet IRL. Absolute legend.



AlexTheFormerProG, I hope you remember the name Hotslogs Elite. Unfortunately, you became too good at the game at some point for me to keep up with. Hope you'll be back soon dude. 86 until then.



Chris, Kamil, Bethany, Davide, Steffi, and everyone else who worked / still works for the Heroes Community Team - without you my life as content creator wouldn't be the same. Thank you for being true friends and keep up the great work you provide in the gaming community!



All the Heroes of the Storm Devs, you've got a lovely, loyal, but sometimes also challenging community. Dealing with it on day-to-day basis must be hard work, both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. I admire your passion and care.



Again, I'm not done streaming, casting, caring, loving Heroes of the Storm. But only time will tell how long I can afford to commit full-time to this beautiful game. I hope it will be the entire year of 2019. Thanks for reading this, let me know what you think of the most recent events and if you agree/disagree with me on some of my thoughts. Always appreciate a good conversation.



See you all in the Nexus!



- Kendric

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TLDR: The way Blizzard (Activision) dealt with the HGC situation was very very unfortunate and I don't agree with their decision at all.

I still love the game and always will - there are pros and cons about dedicating to it full-time in 2019.

Only time will tell if the pros or the cons will dominate.

Had a great time casting HGC China with Tetcher, would love to keep doing it (China will still have a pro league in 2019) but I don't think it'll happen

Stay strong, everyone, I don't think Heroes will "die" that soon. (Oh gosh do I hate using this term, yikes)

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