The storm before the 2019 season seems to be hitting the HGC scene harder than ever. Many players, some of them quite iconic, are retiring before next season, and that matter is naturally concerning for the Heroes audience. With a little bit of perspective though, it's clear to that the passing of the torch to a new generation is necessary for the game (and for the industry as a whole) to grow and mature.

The Retirement

Why anyone would retire from being a professional player? Isn’t it perfect, what every gamer would like to have?

The truth is it’s complicated. There are many elements that influence burnout, such as the stress of a competitive environment or a hobby becoming a job. For many, the jump to being forced to train even if they don’t feel like playing is overwhelming. Focusing on the game 24/7 absorbs their attention and also complicates their personal relationships. The current HGC format further aggravates those tensions. In an online setting, players can’t sit backstage and talk things out face to face, and it’s more difficult to tell whether a teammate is struggling with a personal problem.

The pressure wears out players. and losing can make fighting burnout overwhelming. For example, when Jin recently retired, he wrote how oppressive the situation was for him (even winning the Crucible, three of the No Tomorrow players have already left the team). For others, the dream just doesn’t live up to their expectations or they slowly lose their enthusiasm for the game, as darkmok commented.





There are some reasons to explain why the careers in Heroes seem to be shorter than in other esports, but let’s face it: the biggest reason for burnout in Heroes is due to a lack of funding and infrastructure. Most of the organizations in HGC are quite humble, and for some of them, HotS is their first contact with esports. Others may have some experience, but not many can afford having a wide staff to care about their players’ physical and mental welfare. Many teams in the league don’t even have an organization to back them up.

A few outstanding organizations like Team Liquid, Dignitas, Fnatic, Gen.G, and Tempo Storm maintain excellent player support, but outside those, there’s hardly any real infrastructure. Player salaries across the board are fractions of what any competent team in the LCS or OWL makes, and the infrastructure is severely lacking in comparison. Take, for instance, the Dallas Fuel, who have more than five people just to cover coaching and managing roles. Many OWL teams also have nutritionists, psychologists or personal trainers to help support the players. Heroes of the Storm, on the other hand, is a minor esport that runs primarily on the passion of the players.

The Comeback

The extra burnout we’ve seen thus far has made players think about retiring even if they still have a competitive flame burning inside them. This sometimes results in coming back after a short hiatus. Former global champions merryday and HongCono stepped down from the game for the 2018 HGC Phase 1 but joined BlossoM for Phase 2.

While some players see retirement as a permanent thing, others like darkmok just think of it as a temporary step back—time to get some air, disconnect from the stress, and come back in a better shape with a fresh new mentality.

These comebacks are actually something really good for the scene. When players retire, new ones have to take their places, and new talent is discovered. If later the retired players come back, both them and newer players have to fight their hardest for the spots. This feud can result in teams where the old guard mixes with the new blood, and former players become more like mentors than the bright-eyed competitors they used to be.





For those who don’t come back to the HGC, many of them leave the competitive scene but remain part of the community. This is also a good thing for the game. According to Newzoo, the esports share of the twitch viewership for Heroes of the Storm usually is about 40%, making the game quite esports-dependent. When those well known players become full time streamers, they tend a bridge between the casual and the esports audience and boost the game viewership even if no tournament is being played.

Streaming isn’t the only possible job for retired players. Some become coaches like Zoos or Blumbi. Others, like Bakery, create new roles on teams to help newer players manage their work/life balance. These new jobs will, in the future, help to reduce burnout and improve the quality of life for players.

"Never Like This"

So the retirement of a player can be a good thing. But what happens when more than ten players retire at a time? Can it tear apart the whole scene? Well, we don’t need to speculate. It's happened before.

The Chinese HGC is the less known of the four major regions for the Western audience, that’s why many people may not remember eStar Gaming. They were great international contenders and made it to Top 4 in two out of the three Global Championships of 2016. After the 2017 Mid-Season Brawl, all the five players of eStar retired, but the team was remade with the core of another great Chinese team, X-Team. Unfortunately the new eStar didn’t fare as well as their predecessors, and after the first half of Phase 2, they retired too. That massive retirement resulted in the end of three of the most successful Chinese teams: eStar, X-Team and ZeroPanda.

It was a hard blow for the Chinese scene, but before eStar had completely disappeared, SPT was already rising up, and so did BTG, TheOne and CE later. Renovation wasn’t easy at all. In fact, the Chinese scene was heavily criticized for poor play as teams struggled to even match the minor regions.

After a rough year, Chinese teams are fighting internationally again. It’s true they aren’t the 2015 and 2016 beasts, but step by step they’re coming back. For every XingC or sk retiring, a new Dancing or Hugo is born. But not every Chinese player retired that time, veterans like melodyC are still up to mentor the new generation.

This will to fight is contagious, and not only the Chinese teams returned to battle. According to Esports Charts, the Chinese viewership for the most watched tournament of the year, the Mid-Season Brawl, grew more than a 50% from 2017 to 2018.





Many people view the retirement of players as a negative thing, a threat to the competitive scene or even to the game, but in reality it just provides space for the game and the esport to regenerate, grow, and mature. The Chinese hydra was mowed down but not dead, and teams have spawned from the decapitation of others.

A massive retirement hit the region, as it’s hitting Europe, North America, and South Korea now, but China recovered and will become even stronger than before. It's natural to feel sad about players retiring, but you're missing the bigger picture. It takes a new generation to create an even more exciting and thriving competitive environment, and even though we’ll miss the old champions, crowning new ones will be just as exciting.