Blizzard left Heroes of the Storm to die. Now modders are trying to save it 

Having been abandoned by Blizzard Entertainment in 2022, the future looked non-existent for Heroes of the Storm. Now, after four years of active development, modders have come out to save it by making their own version in StarCraft 2, adequately called Resurgence of the Storm.

The modders posted a release trailer on Jan. 1 on their YouTube channel, showcasing what’s new and what’s different in Resurgence of the Storm. The game, which is actually a free mod for StarCraft 2, contains two maps and numerous heroes ported from HotS, with some of them remade to fit their new environment better. The modders have been actively working on RotS for over four years, and it’s been in playtesting for the past year or so and is now available to the public.

In terms of content, Resurgence of the Storm mostly takes from HotS, but whether due to balancing or engine limitations, some parts of the original game have been significantly altered. The mod has 15 heroes, two of which are entirely new. Arthas has been reworked for the mod, and many other heroes received new or updated talent trees and abilities since not all of them could be replicated in the StarCraft 2 engine due to technical limitations.

The engine limitations apply not only to hero abilities and talents. Some models, such as the XP globes, couldn’t have been ported to RotS. The modders had to devise solutions to these mounting issues, adding to their already extensive workload. The burden of development is precisely why they are in a bleak situation, exciting though this release may be. The small team of four modders, especially RotS technical lead zeroLamberg, has announced that it will end development in March if it doesn’t receive enough donations from fans.

“Resurgence of the Storm is a passion project,” said SomeoneNew in the release trailer, adding that zeroLamberg works on the mod full-time. Without financial support, maintaining and working on the mod will become significantly more challenging, leaving them with no choice but to quit the project soon if no funding comes along. Modders that take up Herculean tasks like these certainly deserve all the support they can muster, and I hope they succeed in their endeavor.

Blizzard pulled funding from HotS in 2018, switching the game to “permanent maintenance mode” as of 2022. It was up to the community to save the MOBA, and though it has truly delivered, it remains to be seen whether or not the project will kick off after March. As I’ve said, it’s up to us, the players, to ensure it does.