You know HOTS is dead when current patch notes are no longer displayed at MMO-C

[Shelly]

Eh, I don't play it, but that's because I don't play the MOBA genre.

That said the game is still getting developer time, it seems to have a niche but strong community and honestly it has a much better shot at becoming an esport now than it did when they tried to just push it really hard. It's also one of the easiest MOBA games to figure out, is great fun to watch and I like how much it emphasizes team play over trying to push up a character to carry.

I do think Blizz should have kept Heroes of the Dorm around, but for the most part should only be doing minor tournament support and maybe offering low level prize pools to community organized tournaments.

Just pushing immediately to an esport has hurt both it and overwatch. It needs to grow naturally around the game.

[Delano]

Nah, MMO-C just doesn't care about HOTS; its period of mainstream interest and accessibility has passed.

It is dead, though.

[Egomaniac]

And that doesn't make a single one of them wrong for 3 years either lmao

Actually, that's exactly what it means.

[Hinastorm]

A game like hots, an online pvp game, is dead when it is no longer relevant. It's not a question of weather it's technically playable or not.

Hots hasn't been relevant for a long time.

[McNeil]

I wouldn't say HotS is dead, its just being kept in maintenance mode. It has a very niche audience who just like short and casual MOBA games and they get to play as their favorite Blizzard character, these are a few of the reasons why some people would prefer it over LoL and DotA 2. I'd say this game lacks on the competitive side which is mainly the reason why it has never taken off as a popular e-sport. The entire genre was basically made for it. Their mistake was to make the game to casual which also means that the game lacks any depth and complexity, and to release it way to late while the genre was taking off. Its hard to say if HotS would get dethroned by LoL or DotA 2 if it came out earlier though.

[alturic]

People have been making "HOTS is dead" thread for like 3 years now...

I think when people use the word "dead" in relation to a video game they mean going downhill - losing popularity. I mean, that has to be what they mean right? WoW has been dead since WotLK.

Hell, who knows maybe they mean dead to them only. :P

[Egomaniac]

A game like hots, an online pvp game, is dead when it is no longer relevant. It's not a question of weather it's technically playable or not.

Hots hasn't been relevant for a long time.

If its not relevant...why are we still talking about it?

[Hinastorm]

If its not relevant...why are we still talking about it?

People talk about non-relevant things all the time.

[Twoddle]

People talk about non-relevant things all the time.

As demonstrated by this thread. It's totally irrelevant that a few people think HotS is dead, they are free to think that. I still play it every day with games starting in seconds in the dead of night with different people and AFAIC it ain't going anywhere soon.

[DesoPL]

A game like hots, an online pvp game, is dead when it is no longer relevant. It's not a question of weather it's technically playable or not.

Hots hasn't been relevant for a long time.

Well this year definetly showed, is no longer relevant.

[Triceron]

Nah, MMO-C just doesn't care about HOTS; its period of mainstream interest and accessibility has passed.

It is dead, though.

Just because you choose not to ignore it doesn't mean it's dead.

It'll be dead when it's no longer playable. Not even Warcraft 2 is dead; it's still being actively played today.

[DeathMaster]

Ok uhm, just going to chime in.. your precious patch notes haven't been posted because Nerraw seems to have vanished without a trace.
I'd consider him an actual friend of mine and even I couldn't tell you what happened or where he is.. and frankly I'm starting to think something bad has happened.

When someone who is online every day suddenly stays offline for 26 days, that's longer than being really sick or a broken computer could explain.
As I never joined him on his HotS ventures, I hoped one of you lads had an idea of what happened to him... Anyone?

[Triceron]

That's certainly troubling news

[Sinte]

They probably realise people that care enough to look at them can easily see them on the battle.net browser.

That and HotS is a Moba not an MMO.

There's literally a HotS button at the top of mmo champion for HotS news, where the patch notes were not posted. Maybe use that thing in your skull sometimes.

[DeathMaster]

And if you'd use the two squishy balls in your skull you could read the somewhat troubling news I only just posted about the guy responsible for posting those very patch notes.

[DesoPL]

Yep Nerraw is vanished, but that's not only. Since patch in september, we actually got nothing even AMA on reddit. I think worst case scenario is happening.

[Triceron]

Yep Nerraw is vanished, but that's not only. Since patch in september, we actually got nothing even AMA on reddit. I think worst case scenario is happening.

Yeah, some 'doomsayer' news has been hinting that Blizz is putting all their money in increasing development for their top 3(4) franchises now; Warcraft (WoW and Hearthstone), Diablo and Overwatch. There's nary anything for the other games, they're all on 'life support'.

[Varodoc]

I'm surprised Blizzard isn't investing more on Starcraft... unlike Heroes, it has a massive e-sport scene and community. Why aren't they working on Starcraft 3 or a massive update to the second game? I don't believe that rumour, there's no reason to abandon Starcraft.

[Segus1992]

Not even once I get queued with the same people. But sure, lets keep saying its dead because...its cool I guess? no idea.

A game isn't dead until it is taken off life support.

Just another day of MMO-Cs intelligence reserve misusing the word for ez internet points.

Do you guys genuinely not understand what 'dead' means in this context? Everyone knows there are still people playing, but it's a small group that even developers think is too small to consider.

[Lord Pebbleton]

Again, pretty much not dead. Maybe from a company or marketing standpoint it is. But you can find plenty of games not being actively supported that have a recurrent playerbase. This is one of them. Personal bias is not an excuse to say a game is dead. You´re not interested in the game? That´s totally valid, but that´s not equivalent to a game being dead. I don´t understand this obsession players have to declare a game being dead just because THEY don´t play it anymore.

I have played HotS in the past (partly because of WoW rewards) and I have stopped playing exactly because Blizzard discontinued support. Why would I want to earn xp, get rewards, unlock portraits, buy heroes in a game that is 100% headed towards termination? Sure, all games come to an end, but you usually don't have this looming feeling that the end is that close.

It's not really an obsession, it's just the way it is. With a single player game you have a set of tasks, possibly levels, and an experience designed to entertain a single person. But in a competitive multiplayer game you play the same maps, play the same roster of heroes, and get better by fighting other players.

If players leave, devs can take countermeasures to attract more and keep the game (hopefully healthy). But if the devs themselves give up on a game that thrives on updates and on new hero gameplay, why would anyone get back to it/get into it?

If I were a new player and I had to wait 20 minutes to find a match, I would get suspicious, look up the state of the game, and I would find all manners of articles about how HotS failed and how the devs are pulling the plug. Then I would not want to play it ever again.

It is totally cool if people still enjoy it and it's nice that they are at least doing two heroes every year, but I for one would see absolutely no point in starting to play now, and I'd wager others believe so as well, otherwise the game would be in a better state right now.