Blizzard ends esports support for Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard is cutting its support for Heroes of the Storm esports.

The publisher announced on its website that much of the manpower behind the game was being diverted to other titles. It also announced the cancellation of the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm esports events.

“We now have more live games and unannounced projects than at any point in the company’s history,” said Blizzard in its statement. “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.”

Heroes of the Storm is a MOBA that includes characters from various Blizzard brands. Launched in 2015 as an answer to surging titles such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. While the game was met with generally positive reviews, it never came close to reaching the heights of popularity enjoyed by rivals in the genre.

The game made strides on the esports front but never quite managed to establish itself as a major title. The HGC attracted some of the biggest organizations in esports and became a regular part of BlizzCon. Meanwhile, Heroes of the Dorm stands as arguably the most successful collegiate esports event to date, having been broadcast on American cable television through ESPN.

But the competitive scene has struggled to retain prominent organizations and players.

News that the HGC and Heroes of the Dorm were cancelled drew a tidal wave of negative reactions on Twitter, with pro players expressing their frustration across social media.

That said, casual fans need not worry about the game disappearing in the foreseeable future. Kaeo Milker, production director for Heroes of the Storm, released a statement revealing that he was “continuing to develop the game with an incredible team that has the experience and passion required to support Heroes of the Storm well into the future.”