Epic Games recently announced they were going all-in on the esports scene revealing  $100 million in prize pools for Fornite's 2018-2019 esports year. While specifics weren’t discussed, the esports industry became abuzz over the steep investment towards a game less than a year old.

Some quick digging provides context at how $100 million in prize pools compares to the rest of the esports industry.

The numbers speak for themselves. The prize money of the top-16 esports titles in 2017 just barely passes Fortnites proposed 100 million prize pool.


Nexus Numbers

However, what caught my eye with the above graphic was that Heroes of the Storm sat at number four on the list in terms of prize pool numbers for the competitive scene at nearly $4.8 million.

As someone who has followed and worked within the competitive scene during the 2018 Heroes Global Championship, I wasn’t surprised to see Blizzard financially backing the game to the extent that it was, but compared to titles that are synonymous with esports such as Rocket League, Call of Duty and Hearthstone, the difference in prize pools was...eye-opening.

Naturally, I decided to share this infographic on Twitter and Heroes’ Reddit to bring this to the attention of others within the scene and the feedback was all over the place.

Dead game?

A running joke within the MOBA and Heroes’ community is that the game is “dead”. To counter in my own posts with this “observation”, I made a note that it sure doesn’t appear the game is dead with prize pools in the competitive scene exceeding that of other major titles.

My thought being, “Why would Blizzard pump money into a game that is perceived dead by those within the MOBA and Heroes’ scene?”

The Heroes of the Storm subreddit (/r/heroesofthestorm) was up in arms after hearing that Blizzard was putting such a large amount of money into the competitive scene when, in the opinions of many Reddit users, those funds should have gone towards improving the current state of the game itself. Other users stated that it’s still a dead game even if money is being pumped in.

While feedback is always appreciated, it’s important to provide some clarity for those who may not know much about how the Heroes’ team and dissect these arguments.

Argument 1 -- “Blizzard should be using that money to improve matchmaking, unbalanced Heroes, etc.”

This argument is tough to speak to directly unless you are someone within the company who knows how the game is budgeted, how their management works or is directly on the design team.

What we can speak to is what we know for certain.

Within Blizzard, there are dedicated teams that work on hero balance, running the competitive side, designing features for the game, etc. All of these teams work together to an extent, but saying that, “If funds are allocated in the competitive scene, ‘X’ isn’t happening because the money isn’t there” seems ignorant without having concrete information to back that up.

It’s tough to imagine a world in which, “If $5 million is dedicated towards HGC prize pools in 2017, that means that money takes away from Raynor getting reworked or the current matchmaking system being revamped.”

Blizzard rakes in billions of dollars a year in revenue (per their quarterly releases), $5 million is a drop in the bucket towards improving a very, very key element within the Heroes’ scene, the competitive side.

Argument 2 -- “Just because Blizzard is putting money into the competitive side, it doesn’t mean the game it’s not dead or has issues.”

This argument has a bit more validity to it but it’s also very subjective and varies depending on your engagement with the scene.

If you’re the casual player who doesn’t check the subreddit often and plays the game once or twice a week to have fun with friends, which is the vast majority of the player base, then most likely you don’t care about the esports scene.

If you’re someone who watches HGC on occasion, checks Reddit daily for engaging posts/memes, and is a loyal fan of the franchise and scene, I can understand the frustration.

Heroes is not a perfect game. It has issues, some of which have been within the game for a long time. It can be frustrating for veteran players enduring new-hero-mobility-creep when a slew of desired changes or fixes haven't happened yet.

I get it.

The Heroes of the Storm team has come so far in the last year improving the game and scene that, if you brought up this point up 18 months ago, I would have been very inclined to side with you.

The recent developer AMAs on the Reddit have been outstanding in terms of connecting with the passionate players of the game. It goes the show the developers are more available than ever to provide insight into why something is the way it is and acknowledges your concerns, and I can tell you with certainty, from talking with/meeting numerous devs over the last six months, they want the game to improve just as much as you do.  

Argument 3 -- “No one cares about the competitive scene or ‘e-Sports’”

First, it’s “esports” so lets get that straight going forward.

I understand that those who compete at the professional, amateur level, or grind Hero League to reach Grand Master are a low percentage of the player base. However, you still need a strong competitive scene in Heroes’ to thrive long-term.

Money brings in pro players, pro players bring in people who want to get into esports, people who play at high levels mean the player base as a whole becomes stronger and more educated. A more educated player base means a demand for content which empowers content creators.

The majority of new players who come into the game will be seeking content to learn how to play. Because the majority of content appeals to those who are interested in being competitive and improving, these new players will, by proxy, get better. The floor for talented players, even for those playing at a casual level, rises. 

That last point is vitally important. The esports scene, through a chain of cause and effects, makes the player base better at the game and provides a healthy playing experience.

The Heroes team is discovering that as well. Blizzard is pumping in resources to providing high-level content such as the HGC Minute, educational videos with pro players and casters, and even put in an esports tab within the game itself. They know a healthy competitive scene is going to be a huge positive long-term.

Who knows the type of game we would be playing right now if Blizzard did this two years ago opposed to now? For now, steps in the right direction matter and Blizzard is taking them.