In the aftermath of the Diablo Immortal controversy last month, it has become strikingly clear that Blizzard is beginning to cut costs and prioritize the shipment of more games. Although Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm (HOTS) is one of its smaller titles, it managed to generate a somewhat respectable eSports following. However, Blizzard has just announced that it will be officially ending its HOTS eSports involvement, effectively terminating hundreds of jobs in the process.
Earlier this year, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Blizzard, Amrita Ahuja, announced in a company meeting that Blizzard would need to cut costs and "not spend money where it isn't necessary." Now, near the end of 2018, Blizzard has announced via social media that it would not be supporting Heroes of the Storm eSports events in 2019.
This decision has shocked hundreds of eSports players, casters, and others who are connected to Heroes of the Storm's competitive play. Over 200 people have lost their jobs due to this decision, many of which relied on their career in eSports as their main or only source of income.
Although HOTS is far from being Blizzard's most successful title, the main draw of the game is its competitive play. Now, without the attraction of eSports, it has to continue competing against similar titles Dota 2 and League of Legends, both of which are much more popular, and continue to maintain strong eSports support.
However, while Blizzard has effectively ended its own involvement in HOTS competitive play, it will still be providing regular updates and improvements to the game itself. In a blog post, Blizzard elaborated by saying, "Ultimately, we're setting up the game for long-term sustainability." Additionally, while Blizzard's conclusion of HOTS eSports support does cut-off its own ties to HOTS competitive play, that does not mean that a third-party cannot scoop it up and conduct its own HOTS eSports events.
Although the ending of Heroes of the Storm eSports events did come as a shock to many, it is not so surprising when the possible factors for the decision are evaluated. CFO Amrita Ahuja essentially set the tone of how 2018 would play out for Blizzard when she announced that it would focus on cutting unnecessary costs. Also, some believe that Blizzard's decision on the HOTS matter was heavily influenced due to pressure by Activision to sell more games, though this is merely speculation.
Heroes of the Storm is available now on PC.