A news announcement out of Blizzard on Thursday may not be the death knell for Heroes of the Storm but it’s a sign that the game’s most lively years may be behind it. Blizzard president J. Allen Brack and chief development officer Ray Gresko penned the post that outlines a change in direction for the development team and a promise of “long-term sustainability” despite the game’s retirement from the competitive eSports scene. The most relevant chunks of the announcement follow but you can read the full post here:
“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.
Despite the change, Heroes of the Storm remains our love letter to Blizzard’s worlds and characters. We’ll continue actively supporting the game with new heroes, themed events, and other content that our community loves, though the cadence will change. Ultimately, we’re setting up the game for long-term sustainability.
We’ve also evaluated our plans around Heroes esports—after looking at all of our priorities and options in light of the change with the game, the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019. 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.”
Fortunately, Blizzard owns the various properties featured in the game so it’s not likely it’ll be completely removed from sale anytime soon. But this seems like a fair warning that modes, content, and active players may be harder and harder to find over the next few years.