With the release of Heart of the Swarm beta this week and thousands of viewers opting to tune into beta streams rather than current Starcraft 2 content, one has to wonder:
Is this the end of Wings of Liberty?
In the first initial days, it is tough to tell. No one knows how long the beta is going to last or how many changes/modifications/adjustments will be made. Regardless, one thing certainly engulfs this release: HYPE
Considering it’s still basically the same game, Starcraft will definitely live on and continue to grow, but it will be quite interesting to see where the viewership turns and what organizations decide to leverage HotS over WoL, or vice versa, and what their justification is for doing so.
I’m less concerned for major tournaments and individual players (in fact, I think HotS will substantially increase player stream revenue) than I am for smaller leagues. These organizations will be put in a tough place, especially if they do not receive beta keys. How will WoL showmatches and weekly leagues compete with those who are opting to stream HotS content, especially if those hosting the WoL content aren’t well known?
Players and teams have built brands that loyal fanbases will continue to tune in for, regardless of which game they choose to stream, but small organizations that are trying to come up and make a name for themselves in the scene will need your support now more than ever.
WoL hasn’t died yet, but the peak has passed and the second half of the arc is going to start dropping rapidly.
We can only hope for the sake of everyone involved that Blizzard is on top of balancing the beta and pushing for the most rapid release possible – the burdens on the opposite end of the spectrum could just be plain devastating.
Think about it – players practicing two games at once has already proven to be burdensome. Will major tournaments accommodate those who stick with WoL or will we see players get rewarded for switching early and cash in on HotS Beta events/streams? What do you think is the likelihood that dual tournaments may occur?
From a revenue perspective, things are about to get weird.
Want to continue this conversation? Tweet me @DOOMSC2 with questions or comments.