There’s a “storm’s a brewing” joke here to be made, but we all know I’m better than that. Heroes of the Storm, the MOBA that brings in characters from Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft, and Overwatch is making some big changes. In a blog post today by J. Allen Brack and Ray Gresko, Blizzard announced that it will be taking some developers away from the game and shifting them over to new projects.
While Brack and Gresko noted that, “We now have more live games and unannounced projects than at any point in the company’s history.” They go on to to talk about how that is exactly why some changes need to be made going forward.
“We’re also at a point where we need to take some of our talented developers and bring their skills to other projects. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to shift some developers from Heroes of the Storm to other teams, and we’re excited to see the passion, knowledge, and experience that they’ll bring to those projects. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to make tough choices like this. Games like Diablo II, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Overwatch, and more would not exist had we not made similar decisions in the past.”
This doesn’t mean Heroes of the Storm is going away anytime soon, mind you. Blizzard will continue developing the game with “new heroes, themed events, and other content that our community loves, though the cadence will change.” The game even introduced Orphea this year, its first hero strictly from the Nexus since 2015.
This DOES mean, however, that the esports scene for the game is going to take a big hit. On top of taking developers away from the game it was announced that “the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019.”Going on to state, “This was another very difficult decision for us to make. The love that the community has for these programs is deeply felt by everyone who works on them, but we ultimately feel this is the right decision versus moving forward in a way that would not meet the standards that players and fans have come to expect.“
The Heroes esports team also had some words of gratitude for the fans in a letter today. They reiterated that the decision was not an easy one, but stood by it. The Heroes of the Storm esports scene was never as large as some of the other games Blizzard produces, but its followers have always been passionate.
“To the HGC supporters, thank you. Thank you for every piece of feedback you provided, HGC Cheer you cheered, and—most of all—every ounce of your passion. We felt it every day, back at the office and alongside you at each and every live event. The HGC could not have happened without all of your support.”
Heroes has always been a fun MOBA to jump into for a few days to get away from the other ‘paint by numbers’ games out there, and while I am excited to see what new projects Blizzard has on the go, it seems that the storm has started to subside over Heroes of the Storm. Huh, I guess I’m not better than that.
