Summary
- Blizzard Entertainment's Heroes of the Storm, a MOBA featuring characters from various franchises, was initially successful but popularity declined over time.
- Microsoft's acquisition of Blizzard could lead to the revival of neglected IPs like Heroes of the Storm, potentially with crossovers with Xbox franchises.
- Heroes of the Storm could become Xbox's answer to Super Smash Bros, with potential collaborations and a complete relaunch on Xbox consoles.
Like many game developers that have been around in the industry for a long period of time, Blizzard Entertainment has no shortage of dormant franchises and games under its belt. Perhaps the most notable example of the company's neglected IPs is Starcraft, the popular sci-fi RTS series that hasn't received a new release since 2017. Dig a little deeper into Blizzard's catalog of unsupported games, though, and one will come across Heroes of the Storm, a critically-acclaimed, Defense of the Ancients-style MOBA that was released in 2015.
Heroes of the Storm was a crossover game of sorts, as it featured a slew of playable characters from many of Blizzard's iconic franchises, including Overwatch, Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft. Because of this, the title appealed to a wide variety of fanbases and attracted a lot of attention from gamers leading up to its Windows and macOS release. Although Heroes of the Storm was initially a big success upon its 2015 launch, the game's popularity started to taper off in the years that followed. Blizzard announced in 2022 that Heroes of the Storm would no longer receive new content updates, though the game's servers are still active as of 2024. However, Blizzard could take advantage of its recent acquisition by Microsoft to bring Heroes of the Storm back in a major way.
Heroes of the Storm is Testing Another Big Balance Patch
Heroes of the Storm keeps things cool with a summer surprise in the form of a new balance update, currently available for playtesting on the PTR.
With Microsoft Officially Owning Blizzard, Now is the Best Time to Bring Heroes of the Storm Back
Xbox Has Shown Interest in Bringing Back Old IPs
Following months of intense scrutiny from regulators worldwide, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King late last year. Thanks to the buyout, Xbox now owns a plethora of franchises across not only ABK, but Zenimax Media and Xbox Game Studios, as well. Many of the IPs the console manufacturer inherited throughout its acquisition spree over the last few years are, however, dormant. As such, questions have surrounded the future of inactive franchises under the Microsoft umbrella, especially those from Activision Blizzard. These queries have prompted Xbox boss Phil Spencer to express his thoughts on the matter on multiple occasions.
Throughout several interviews, Spencer has discussed his desire to revisit some of the old franchises Xbox owns, including IPs like HeXen, Guitar Hero, and StarCraft. The executive has stressed, though, that potential revivals like these hinge entirely on the willingness of Microsoft's first-party developers, as the company isn't interested in pressuring them to make something they don't want to make. Even still, this does open the door for Heroes of the Storm to be one of the dormant franchises that Microsoft brings back, as long as Blizzard is still interested in working on it.
Heroes of the Storm Could Become Xbox's Answer to Super Smash Bros
As the IP juggernaut that Microsoft is today, if Blizzard were to revive Heroes of the Storm, it could make the game more popular by adding crossovers with tons of Xbox-owned franchises, from Halo, Call of Duty, and Doom to Killer Instinct, Gears of War, and Fallout. While it might be strange at first to see characters like Master Chief, Fulgore, and Marcus Fenix team up to fight iconic Blizzard heroes like Anduin, D.Va, and Genji, collaborations like these could make Heroes of the Storm Xbox's answer to Super Smash Bros., although one that's a 5v5 MOBA rather than a platform fighter.
If Microsoft does go down this route, then it should also consider bringing Heroes of the Storm to Xbox consoles, as well. Admittedly, such a task might not be easy, given the fact that MOBAs typically don't translate too well to controllers, but if this overlooked Blizzard game does get revived, then it should be brought back all the way and have its return treated as a complete relaunch.
Heroes of the Storm
- Released
- June 2, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
This free-to-play online team brawler assembles a diverse cast of characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes, and challenges them to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles.
Thrall, Kerrigan, Diablo, Arthas, Zeratul, Tyrael—they’re all here and ready to test their might in the forge of eternal combat. Who will stand with you in battle? Build and customize heroes from across every Blizzard universe to suit your play style. Team up with your friends and engage in fast-paced mayhem across battlegrounds that impact strategy and change the way you play the game.
Good players win. Great ones win while dressed to kill. Distinguish yourself in battle with dozens of unique heroes, skins, and mounts, then customize your hero’s talents and choose heroic abilities.
The game features an array of gameplay modes for players of every skill level, including Cooperative, in which players team up against computer-controlled opponents, and Quick Match, an accessible way to jump in and play versus others. Experienced players can also join forces against other teams of players in highly competitive, draft-style ranked play.
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- MOBA
