Arthas and Artanis duke it out amid a backdrop of other heroes.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard is moving Heroes of the Storm to permanent maintenance mode

Seven years after the game released, it's officially dead.

Blizzard has announced that it’s putting Heroes of the Storm on life support.

Recommended Videos

In a blog post released earlier today, the developer revealed that the MOBA will no longer receive new content or events. The in-game item shop will remain open, but no new items will be added to it. Seasonal rolls for ranked and free hero rotations will continue as normal. Heroes may still receive patches in the future, but they’ll be focused on bug fixes and client support rather than balance changes. Blizzard did note that the game will receive balance updates if needed. As a reward, all players will receive the Epic Arcane Lizard mount in a patch coming next week.

Heroes of the Storm has been considered a dead game by many since Blizzard unceremoniously pulled the plug on the game’s esports scene, the Heroes Global Championship, and redirected many of its developers to other projects back in 2018. Heroes has not received a new playable character since the World of Warcraft mainstay Hogger arrived in 2020, and events and content drops occurred extremely sporadically. Despite the lowered level of support, community organizations and tournaments picked up the slack and provided players with opportunities to pursue their competitive goals.

During its days of live support, Heroes of the Storm struggled to carve out a niche next to bigger and more popular MOBAs like League of Legends and Dota 2. To differentiate itself, it used a variety of maps and map objectives from Blizzard’s franchises to bring characters together in five-vs-five clashes.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article PlayStation 5’s April 24 software update: What is the new Game Help system?
PlayStation Game Help system
Read Article Escape from Tarkov Unheard Edition drama, explained
Soldier coming round the corner with shotgun, as a grenade is thrown towards him in Escape from Tarkov Announcement Trailer
Read Article Popular Animal Crossing characters K.K. Slider and Dodo Airlines are getting new LEGO sets
LEGO Animal Crossing sets shown in promotional images.
Related Content
Read Article PlayStation 5’s April 24 software update: What is the new Game Help system?
PlayStation Game Help system
Read Article Escape from Tarkov Unheard Edition drama, explained
Soldier coming round the corner with shotgun, as a grenade is thrown towards him in Escape from Tarkov Announcement Trailer
Read Article Popular Animal Crossing characters K.K. Slider and Dodo Airlines are getting new LEGO sets
LEGO Animal Crossing sets shown in promotional images.
Author
Emily Morrow
Emily is a staff writer covering Apex Legends, Overwatch, Pokemon, and general gaming for Dot Esports. Her other bylines include Digital Trends, Screen Rant, and GameSpew. She also works as a narrative designer in games. Get in touch with her on Twitter @thepokeflute.