From what i’ve seen, the big moment of decline came from the removal of HGC and other pro tournaments. wouldn’t the first step to revitalizing the population be to create tournaments of our own? you could have people register in teams, and hold a initial tournament that figures out what skill your team places in. after that hold tournaments or solo matches between teams in the same skill bracket. your could have people at the top be able to challenge the people at the bottom of the next bracket. you could even have a league with seasons if you want. these are all just ideas that would be interesting if implemented and would give players a team to cheer for and a goal of their own if they desire to play in competitive play. having organized teams and brackets separating more skilled and less skilled players allows competing teams to be on a more even level and keeps you from being matched up with people you don’t like. there are resources out there that would allow you to compile stats on certain players and characters allowing you to share individual player stats and help formulate a solid meta. all that this needs is a organized group of individuals who have the drive and the motivation to create something like this.
I was going to post something related, but this is like the best of both worlds. Just leaving this here for reference. No hate intended.
I really enjoy the amateur league streams and JHow guides and I feel like there could be a good opportunity to have a broader engagement.
I am no expert, I have no knowledge of Blizzard’s financing, I know not how many people want this. I just wanted to mention that I would really enjoy ESports coming back to HotS by allowing people to host their own leagues with crazy rules and perhaps in the future alterations to the entire meta.
Warcraft 3’s EULA damaged a trust we had in Blizz, and I think this can be a good response to both bolster the ranks of people involved and also encourage their involvement.
Activision: no
20characters
As a former amateur competitive league owner who hosted tournaments and a league via Heroes of the Storm, I can say that this removal of HGC was indeed a giant part of why many started giving up on the game. The aspirations of many to fight for a potential spot in HGC and improving their team and trying for the HGC open was something worth holding amateur leagues and tournaments for as it would not only produce more awareness and community for Heroes of the Storm, but likely also draw in more newer competitive players and teams as well as bring in more income to the game and its development. Another problem is that Blizzard has been overall facing a downward spiral in public relations and community trust. This can unfortunately cause the population of an online game like this to falter. Just as well, the very fact HGC was discontinued prior to any of the public fallout that Blizzard has experienced is a testament to how their decision to remove HGC presented an image that Blizzard was not necessarily the same company anymore and had the same vision or objectives for Heroes of the Storm and other games. Their focus was on making money and in the short term, they probably felt Heroes of the Storm HGC was not worth investing the money to try and build an esports scene out of whilst also awarding money to winning teams. They likely were not bringing in the viewership. What is strange is that before HGC was discontinued, it seemed like Blizzard was indeed getting more involved in the amateur scene with blizzard staff allying with well-known and developing amateur leagues such as Heroes Hype, NGS, etc. My organization, CGL (Charity Gaming League) was a developing amateur esports organization focused on raising funds for charity while also holding amateur tournaments and leagues. But it only lasted one season as the fallout of HGC being discontinued ruined it.
Personally, I would be willing to give CGL another try as the founder of it and invest a little money, but I would definitely need more help than I had as I was essentially solo running it which took a ton of my time away and burned me out.
If people were interested and showed motivation to see the amateur scene revitalized, I’d love for them to reach out to me. My bnet tag is Isaiha#1438 so hit me up if that’s what you’re interested in, otherwise this post is more or less just a response to your question.
Not a pro player by any regard, however I would love to spectate. The least I can do is pumping visibility on this thread.