So is Blizzard Giving up on Heroes of the Storm?

[dope_danny]

Q2 earnings are in for Blizzard and its a profitable one. 15 million copies of Overwatch sold, $900 million in microtransactions and even a slight uptick in wow player numbers. It all seems golden -well except for SC2 which kind of seems to be withering on the vine a little- but one interesting thing is a complete lack of Heroes of the Storm in their press releases.

Its no secret MOBA's are an oversaturated market and anything not League of DOTA 2 has been dying off and HotS hasn't exactly been a power house -literally the only time i've heard someone mention it was someone after a WoW pet from a cross game promotion. So was the Blizzard ips character roster not enough to keep it growing? I've not played it since beta but i've heard its problems lie more in horrible attempts at running esports events for it rather than the game. Though it begs the question, is this the first actual Blizzard flop?

They have cancelled games before release before, had things like Warlords be met with a large negative reaction from a sizeable portion of its fanbase but i cant think of another retail release by Blizzard thats been such a comparative flop to all its other products to the point its not even worth mentioning in their quarterly reports.

I'm sure there must be some Blizzard dies hards enjoying it for the characters alone, but is this just being silently swept under the rug as the singular failed release by Blizzard?

Or is it just another sign of people being sick of "yet another moba" and sticking to the other blizzard titles with established audiences?

[Yaersulf]

Personally, I like HoTS, but if I'm ever in the mood to play a moba I just end up playing DotA.

[Felrane]

It still makes money its just not a huge amount.

[Fabray]

I've not played it since beta

*walks away*

[Ealyssa]

Makes a lot of money, cost really little (a bunch heroes a year, 1-2 maps, bug fixes). Really can't see why the would drop it. Would make no sense.

[DesoPL]

Blizz is now focused on preparing WoW for legion release, so that's why lately is not focused on HOTS.

But fear not, if prophecies are true, we can except an Starcraft event in november, due to 1 year aniversary of Legacy Of The Void release. Also... Who cares about LoL? It's finished in season 4, now is only money cow for Riot.

[TEHPALLYTANK]

What the hell are you smoking? HotS is doing fine and there is nothing to indicate they're giving up on the game. We're still getting a new hero every month, along with balance tweaks and various technical upgrades.

[Deleted]

It's quite understandable why there is no focus on it with:
- a new WoW expansion around the corner
- a HS expansions just comming out
- a completely new game comming out (overwatch)

HotS will get it's time to shine again; it's just not the right time to give it the spotlight.

[Kaleredar]

Haven't played HotS since overwatch came out.

[ttak82]

They just got at least one more esports manager on the HoTS team. Gamescom is around the corner and there are more heroes expected to be coming soon along with other possible announcements. There are also rumors of a new regional league format coming next year for the esport scene.
Does not look like they are giving up on hots yet.

Also not sure how the global MOBA market is saturated. Sure, DOTA2 and LoL have a very loyal playerbase, but there's plenty of room for new FTP MOBA games.
Other games include SMITE, HOTS, Vainglory, Paragon, HON, Strife and Supernova, and I think only the last 3 are not doing too well. I could be wrong. There are Chinese knockoffs but these games are for a limited market.

It is worth mentioning that a standalone FTP MMO game is really not enough to sustain itself. It's now mandatory to have integration with different platforms and services (streaming, voip, data clouds, payment services, networking and telecom partnerships, distribution etc etc.)

[Muis]

Lets see.
A new sponsor/org enters the scene, new esports manager, still a new hero every 3-4 weeks...

And a league system coming for tournaments.

I dunno, seems they are still busy and occupied with it.

Also you said you didn't play since beta. So you also missed out on the whole Hero League overhaul and general improvements/added game modes.

So there's plenty of changes and additional content being created. Ded gaem indeed.

[Necroofeelya]

Personally, I do not see why HoTs wouldnt be able to earn a spot among LoL and dota and become an esports game.
I am quite sad that a large part of the moba community looks at HoTs like some gross reject. The game deserves way more credit and I cannot see why so many people hate it.
It is a very well designed game and they continue to release heroes on it. Honestly, its the first MOBA I have ever enjoyed.

Yes I will get hate for what I am about to say and yes I am a die hard blizzard fan.
My first Moba was LoL. Never played Dota and really do not have the desire too.
Idk, league was pretty bland to me. Boring. I didn't feel connected to it. The heroes were made up, no relation to the universe kind of feel. Sure yes I know they have little lore stories for each one. But still. They just didn't feel right.
This along with the fact that the map and game type choice seemed very limited.

HoTs on the other hand. I know each character as soon as it comes out because it was the characters I grew up with. Even if I was a first time blizzard player and knew nothing about the characters. You could become immersed in a character you love because there is so much more to it.

For example. Lets say Kha Zix from LoL and Illidian from HoTs
Kha Zix has a paragraph of lore, maybe some fandom theory as well.

Illidian has books, cinematic, and is in Warcraft and in WoW
Now I know some of you may say who cares. But it really does make a difference to some people out there.

When I play Kha Zix. I am just playing a random champion that feels lifeless
When I play Illidian. I am the character and feel the backstory of such a lore figure when I am slicing through enemies to their core.

However again, some people feel that way and some don't.

The maps in Heroes are also insanely detailed and the mechanics make it even more fun and challenging.

[Amerrol]

Well I mean they're releasing heroes at a pretty fast pace, and balance updates seem to be coming faster then ever. It does seem to be in kind of a "standby mode" of sorts, as even the new season wasn't too hyped up by Blizzard. Hopefully the upcoming Starcraft event gives it a bit of a jump start. I'm still playing a ton, so as long as queue times aren't too bad and matches are relatively balanced, I'll be happy.

[Deleted]

Personally, I do not see why HoTs wouldnt be able to earn a spot among LoL and dota and become an esports game.
I am quite sad that a large part of the moba community looks at HoTs like some gross reject. The game deserves way more credit and I cannot see why so many people hate it.
It is a very well designed game and they continue to release heroes on it. Honestly, its the first MOBA I have ever enjoyed.

Yes I will get hate for what I am about to say and yes I am a die hard blizzard fan.
My first Moba was LoL. Never played Dota and really do not have the desire too.
Idk, league was pretty bland to me. Boring. I didn't feel connected to it. The heroes were made up, no relation to the universe kind of feel. Sure yes I know they have little lore stories for each one. But still. They just didn't feel right.
This along with the fact that the map and game type choice seemed very limited.

HoTs on the other hand. I know each character as soon as it comes out because it was the characters I grew up with. Even if I was a first time blizzard player and knew nothing about the characters. You could become immersed in a character you love because there is so much more to it.

For example. Lets say Kha Zix from LoL and Illidian from HoTs
Kha Zix has a paragraph of lore, maybe some fandom theory as well.

Illidian has books, cinematic, and is in Warcraft and in WoW
Now I know some of you may say who cares. But it really does make a difference to some people out there.

When I play Kha Zix. I am just playing a random champion that feels lifeless
When I play Illidian. I am the character and feel the backstory of such a lore figure when I am slicing through enemies to their core.

However again, some people feel that way and some don't.

The maps in Heroes are also insanely detailed and the mechanics make it even more fun and challenging.

''I am a Blizazrd fanboy, and this game is good because it has Blizzard characters in it. Unlike Lol, which doesn't. I also never played Dota but I can't see why this awesome Blizzard game can't have it's spot among Lol/dota as an esport. People just hate the game for no reason''.

The game is not well designed. The ''mechanics'' (not quite sure what you meant by that) don't make it stand out compared to any other MOBA. The maps all play out the same. Game is boring, with people just running around on mounts until the game tells them to go to objectives. The only reason this game has been relevant at all is because it is made by Blizzard and has Blizzard characters in it. If it were made by any other company nobody would play it after 3 months.

Oh and they added Necromancer which looks like an emo reject from D3 instead of the D2 badass. They added Auriel, an irrelevant character that looks like female Tyrael and still no Baal or Mephisto. GG wp Blizz.

[Teaon]

they should have taken dota when ice frog requested it from blizzard, but they were too ignorant back then, and i bet now that they regret the fuck of it after moba became the strongest market

[Raikh]

''I am a Blizazrd fanboy, and this game is good because it has Blizzard characters in it. Unlike Lol, which doesn't. I also never played Dota but I can't see why this awesome Blizzard game can't have it's spot among Lol/dota as an esport. People just hate the game for no reason''.

The game is not well designed. The ''mechanics'' (not quite sure what you meant by that) don't make it stand out compared to any other MOBA. The maps all play out the same. Game is boring, with people just running around on mounts until the game tells them to go to objectives. The only reason this game has been relevant at all is because it is made by Blizzard and has Blizzard characters in it. If it were made by any other company nobody would play it after 3 months.

Oh and they added Necromancer which looks like an emo reject from D3 instead of the D2 badass. They added Auriel, an irrelevant character that looks like female Tyrael and still no Baal or Mephisto. GG wp Blizz.

Should I use your own statement against you? "All maps play the same" is just flat out wrong. Map size and structure is different for each map, having 3 lanes on most of them doesn't make them play the same, because the objectives are placed differently and are played differently which changes the dynamic of the entire map from a strategic PoV. Hell, for an extreme case on towers of doom you cant even attack the core yourself. Such a statement shows that you have no idea of hots on a reasonable level of play. They also dont release heroes based on popularity but release ones that they have great ideas for or the game needs. At some point everyones favorites will be in.

Boring is also a super bad argument. The game is way more action oriented than dota and lol. While I respect that a lot of people grew to love those games for what they are, a lot of their mechanics look horribly outdated to me and the whole gold and last hitting stories are not in the game because someone thought it was a brilliant idea adding deep gameplay but because it was required by the engine. If dota was made today as the first moba it would've looked vastly different with a newer enigne. The whole game is carried by the established playerbase and offers little for newcomers or casual players which is a major difference between hots and dota from a design PoV.

Hots started out flawed and was not presented as bombastic as overwatch was, but the game is steadily improving for all kind sof players. It is a very good blizzard game which still needs to sort out some problems but its on the right way.

[Tenjen]

''I am a Blizazrd fanboy, and this game is good because it has Blizzard characters in it. Unlike Lol, which doesn't. I also never played Dota but I can't see why this awesome Blizzard game can't have it's spot among Lol/dota as an esport. People just hate the game for no reason''.

The game is not well designed. The ''mechanics'' (not quite sure what you meant by that) don't make it stand out compared to any other MOBA. The maps all play out the same. Game is boring, with people just running around on mounts until the game tells them to go to objectives. The only reason this game has been relevant at all is because it is made by Blizzard and has Blizzard characters in it. If it were made by any other company nobody would play it after 3 months.

Oh and they added Necromancer which looks like an emo reject from D3 instead of the D2 badass. They added Auriel, an irrelevant character that looks like female Tyrael and still no Baal or Mephisto. GG wp Blizz.

are you trying to hit all the cliche's, most tiresome lines and dead horses in one post?

The game is still receiving a great deal of attention. Just came out of major updates, just got major sponsoring and events and is tsill recieving updates and heroes every month. we are getting closer to arena's and a starcraft event.

So don't talk shit when all your talk really just amounts to "i didnt bother to do any research or actually check, so since i bothered to know nothing it must mean nothing is happening"

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

Its their least successful game, but what does that matter?
Why would they give up on it?
I'm sure it still earns money.

[Nerraw]

This is usually a heated subject. Keep the discussion civil.

[Frozen Death Knight]

I really do not see your point, OP. The game has got more frequent updates than all of the other Blizzard games currently available and your conclusion is that they are giving up on it? Yeah, no.

The game has got several major patches within the first year of its release and we even know some of the plans in regards to future updates. Blizzard does not seem to have any intentions of stopping the current pace of major and minor patches. HotS has improved quite a bit since its launch and I am positive that it will do the same in the future.