The 10th anniversary of Heroes of the Storm served up a faux pas to all of its gamers, and the developers are rolling out the red carpet for free heroes, exclusive portraits, and a very special Gear Head Thrall skin. From now until June 15, every single hero is unlocked for every player, and upon logging into the game, you will be rewarded with two brand-new portraits. But the real showstopper is this Thrall skin, a Maniac-Mad Max-influenced wonder.
Let’s get serious about it: The game definitely has had some tricky years. Blizzard drained almost all of its resources from the game since 2018 and has now kept the game alive only by minimal means. This hasn’t deterred the players, though. The replies in Blizzard’s tweet have ranged between celebrations, nostalgia, and heartfelt cries for more updates. One player, @Tantarboy, openly wrote, “Hopefully you guys revive it, queue times are still small and the playerbase is obviously quite active.” People are still playing; they’re still loving it; they’re just begging for new content.
Blizzard received another level of sarcastic criticism from @Tnecwin, “Does it count as 10 years of it if it was put on a skeleton crew 3 years ago?” Yikes, but fair. The last big hero dropped for the game occurred years ago, and players like @boringshaldorei aren’t holding their peace. “Girl celebrate it by UPDATING it we need new heroes.” Loud is the demand of every player for new souls (or, y’know, Grom Hellscream).
There are a few more hopeful types looking at salvation from Microsoft. @AmishZaku remembered that at the height of HotS’ popularity, college teams even competed on ESPN, and now there’s hope that Microsoft might breathe some life into it again after Bethesda; meanwhile, @playtocinama wonders if maybe Master Chief would become a support hero. Stranger things have happened.
But the real view? Incubated by love and a little pain. @dead_cell put that nicely: “Loved this game years ago but man did you guys squander the potential…” And @LordDemonos just hit us right in the feels with a simple, “I miss you so much.”
What comes next for Heroes of the Storm? Blizzard is keeping mum. The anniversary is cool and all, but players want more: new heroes, new maps, maybe even a Steam release (special shoutout to @tymnj7 and @nohea_d for that one). For now, though, the game is kicking, and the celebration is a nice little salute to those few fans who never fell away.
If you haven’t logged in for a while, then now is an opportune time. Free heroes, a fresh Thrall skin, and a walk down memory lane-well, the bright side of those days is questionable. Here’s to 10 years of chaos, brawls, and that one teammate who always overextends. Happy anniversary, HotS, do not let the flame get extinguished just yet.
