Blizzard remembered that Heroes of the Storm was released ten years ago and celebrates with an event
By Marco Wutz
Blizzard’s casual MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, was released on June 2, 2015. Although late to the game – Dota 2, League of Legends, and Smite had long become the dominant forces in the genre – the title had some great arguments going for it: It was pretty chill in contrast to its very sweaty counterparts and it assembled the most popular characters from Blizzard’s franchises.
Unfortunately, Blizzard didn’t really play into these strengths and instead decided to market the game as something it really wasn’t meant to be — a competitive title with an esports focus. That failed spectacularly – which a lot of people predicted at the time – and Heroes of the Storm was essentially put on ice. Its servers are still running and it’ll get balance updates once or twice a year, but ultimately Blizzard’s grand MOBA venture never got to explore its full potential.
Which is a shame, because a real alternative to the big genre mainstays that’s catered towards casual players still holds some appeal and Heroes of the Storm was perfectly positioned to be exactly that. Following the company’s acquisition by Microsoft, the developers could have even thrown the likes of Master Chief into the mix, making the game the Super Smash Bros. of MOBAs.
At least the developer remembered the game’s tenth birthday. Until June 15, 2025, all playable characters in the game are available for free and every player logging in will receive two freshly made portraits. Blizzard also added a new skin to the shop.
It’s a humble celebration, but that’s still better than what the remaining community around the game expected — nothing at all.
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