Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's free team MOBA set in the Nexus. Characters from Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo and Overwatch face off in teams of five and grow during a match through freely chosen talents instead of a classic item shop.

Each battlefield has its own objectives that directly change how a match unfolds. This way, Heroes of the Storm combines classic MOBA team fights with strongly map-dependent strategies.

Heroes of the Storm was released on Jun 2, 2015. Blizzard had previously run an open beta and then released the game as a free-to-play title via Battle.net.

In July 2022, Blizzard switched ongoing support to a long-term maintenance mode: Seasons and hero rotations continued, while new content initially took a back seat to client maintenance, bug fixes and balance updates. With Xal’atath, the game received a new playable hero again on Sep 28, 2026.

Heroes of the Storm is available for PC via Battle.net and can be played for free. Blizzard does not offer native console versions of the MOBA.

The game is played by two teams that destroy enemy structures while also controlling the special objectives of each battlefield. Heroes gain experience as a team and choose talents during the match that change their abilities and playstyle.

The current role model includes tanks, bruisers, healers as well as melee and ranged assassins, among others. The maps differ not only visually but also through their own mechanics and objectives, which shape team rotations and fights.

Xal’atath arrived in the Nexus on Sep 28, 2026 as a ranged assassin. Her playstyle builds pressure through void magic and area control: Shadow Mark marks enemy heroes, Dark Heart Ritual creates a homing damage zone, and Void Volley is charged up by attacks.

With Void Eruption and Void Convergence, two heroic abilities are available to choose from. Blizzard released Xal’atath after a long phase in which new content had been put on hold in favor of maintenance and balance.