Heroes of the Stormis somewhat of a distant memory for many Blizzard fans at this point. In 2018, Blizzard downsized theHeroes of the Stormteam and announced it would be transitioning to what it called a phase of “long-term support.” This process includedending esports support forHeroes of the Storm, including its Heroes Global Championship events. Now Blizzard is taking additional steps to wind downHeroes of the Storm’s support, shifting the game into what Blizzard traditionally calls maintenance mode.
Blizzard made the announcement on Friday, July 8, confirming thatHeroes of the Stormis being shifted to a state of support that bothStarCraftandStarCraft 2are currently in. What that means specifically is thatHeroes of the Stormwill continue basic support for current in-game features, like its hero rotations and seasonal rolls. No further content will be developed forHeroes of the Storm, however, so patches will focus only on bug fixing and balance changes as necessary.
RELATED:Blizzard Gearing Up for a 2023 BlizzCon Return
No new content also means thatHeroes of the Stormwill no longer receive new microtransaction additions fromBlizzard. TheHeroes of the Stormstorefront will remain open for those who would like to purchase skins and other offerings, but they’ll simply be content previously made available. The game as it exists now is how it will exist going forward.
In a somber revelation, Blizzard mentioned that June marked the seventh anniversary ofHeroes of the Storm. Other than some celebration amongHeroes of the Storm’s most dedicated fans, little came about for the event. Now, a month later, Blizzard is saying “thank you” to the community for their support.
As one last gift before puttingHeroes of the Storminto maintenance mode, all players will be receiving a free mount. Blizzard will be giving away the “incredibly rare” Epic Arcane Lizard mount. The mount will be delivered with next week’spatch forHeroes of the Stormplayers. There are no apparent restrictions regarding who can unlock the mount or how long it will be available.
At one point in time, it looked like Blizzard genuinely wanted to makeHeroes of the Storminto a MOBA that would compete withLeague of LegendsandDota 2as one of the top MOBAs in the world. While it never accomplished that goal, it’s curious to think whatHeroes of the Stormmight look like today if it received broader development support through the years.
