Heroes of the Storm, once a rising esports star, is now facing a crisis of identity. Suddenly shadowed by Blizzard’s newest release, Overwatch, the MOBA is now entering what’s been the death knell of many esports games before it: old age.

History of Heroes

To be fair, Heroes has only been out for a year. But the game initially was presented in 2010, as a custom game map for StarCraft 2. Development over that time span eventually saw it get a separate release, and many more features than initially planned.

Reviews were mostly raving and the game holds a rating of 86 on Metacritic. It also notably launched with an ESPN collaboration in the Heroes of the Dorm tournament, featuring top collegiate teams around the United States.

With shorter game times, simplified mechanics, and a shared-leveling system, Heroes looked poised to be the “casual” competitor to League of Legends and the ever-complex Dota 2. Indeed, I myself preferred to play it over those others, simply because it was easier pick up (and put down!).

Following its release, Heroes of the Storm immediately launched into a sizable pro scene, coupled with a substantial investment by Blizzard. Organizers that hosted Heroes tournaments include Dreamhack, IEM, and World Cyber Arena. It has leagues in China and Korea, and of course, the seasonal Blizzard-backed Global Championship, all with prize pools in the hundreds of thousands.

So what went wrong with the pro scene?

Unfortunately, it still remains a minor player in the esports scene. While other titles like Counter-Strike have taken off in the last few years, Heroes remains still mostly notable, outside its followers at least, for the Heroes of the Dorm. It remains an interesting decision of Blizzard’s to focus promotions around the game’s collegiate tournament, rather than the Heroes Global Championship.

To make matters worse, Heroes prize pools simply don’t match that of its competitors. While Dota 2 remains the prize king with last year’s $18 million, HGC’s finals only pay out $500,000.

As a result, many players are looking for opportunities elsewhere. A kind soul on Reddit recently translated an interview with Gwang Bok Kim, the manager for MVP Black, the winningest team in Heroes.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]There are no tournaments outside of the Blizzard sponsored ones.[/perfectpullquote]

“There are no tournaments outside of the Blizzard sponsored ones. I don’t know whether MVP Black’s players will continue playing Heroes after this year… You don’t earn much even if you win all the international tournaments. My players are still young, so they still have opportunities to play in different games. Both my players and I are sad by the reality of we have to face despite being best in the world.”

The recently-disbanded EDG Heroes team felt the same way. In another Reddit interview, player Guo “Gemini” Jiayi stated that “You would have a difficult time convincing me HOTS is a worthwhile investment… Blizzard did a terrible job marketing and hyping this game in China. There is literally no talent influx… Overwatch has also taken a huge chunk of the player base.”

The claims of a lack of major tournaments are undeniable. There are none currently detailed past this month’s Dreamhack Global Championship All-Stars. Teams that have dropped their Heroes teams in the last year include EDG, SK Gaming, G2 Esports, and compLexity.

Crisis of identity

If anything is clear about Heroes of the Storm, it’s this: the game could be great. It could be exactly what many of its fans were hoping it would be—a League killer.

But unfortunately, Blizzard has gone a different direction entirely. The issues outlined above are all related, and are all explained easily when you look at Blizzard as a whole. Heroes came out as a result of StarCraft 2’s success… which, now ebbing, shows a possible direction of where Heroes will end up. Heroes’ free-to-play model, however, means that Blizzard needs to continue to pump resources into the game to keep people interested and making purchases.

Where are those resources going instead? Take a look at any gaming site last week and the answer is clear—Overwatch. The new Blizzard shooter looks promising, and while its pro scene is yet to be detailed, it’s clear that Blizzard is throwing its PR might behind the game. Hell, Blizzard is even advertising for Overwatch inside of Heroes of the Storm!

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Heroes doesn’t get the kind of attention that it really should be getting.[/perfectpullquote]

Ultimately, Heroes of the Storm’s state appears to be a function of its position in line at Blizzard, rather than anything intrinsic to the game itself. Hearthstone’s free-to-play dominance, Overwatch’s shiny-newness, and World of Warcraft’s inherent need to exist all mean that Heroes doesn’t get the kind of attention that it really should be getting.

Now lacking that new car smell, it’s time for Blizzard to decide what it wants Heroes’ future to be. It can try to revitalize Heroes’ pro scene, or it can continue to tread water, making back the money spent to develop it, and to further line Blizzard’s coffers. Unfortunately for the game’s many fans and pro players, it appears that the decision may already have been made.