Which of these MOBAs do you think can stand up against Dota 2 and LoL?

It’s fair to say that MOBA games are huge right now. Whether you look to record-breaking prize pools, or the genre’s play-time dominance in China, it’s a fact that’s impossible to ignore. Nor does it seem that game companies are keen to ignore it. Rather, it seems like an increasing number are keen to snatch a slice of the pie for themselves. But as the genre starts looking increasingly crowded, how many will leave with an (expensive) empty stomach?

(See: China’s MOBA explosion is going to backfire)

Heroes of the Storm

This is perhaps as close to a safe bet as it’s possible to make in this race. Blizzard has a formidable reputation, especially in Southeast Asia. Warcraft 3 continues to do well in the region’s cybercafes, and World of Warcraft is still the most successful Western-made MMORPG in China despite fierce competition.

Hearthstone has also done well at getting people in the region excited. Seeing as how it’s also a recent entry into a popular and overcrowded genre that relied on goodwill towards Blizzard IP, perhaps a similar fate awaits Heroes of the Storm?

(See: Hearthstone hits #1 on app stores across Asia)

Blizzard appears to have the same design philosophy behind Heroes of the Storm. Comparing the game to Dota 2 is not unlike comparing Hearthstone to Magic: the Gathering—Blizzard has streamlined Heroes for accessibility, aiming for a game that can be played quickly in short bursts rather than forcing its players to set aside an hour for a single match. While this is the approach that drove some players away from World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s doubling-down on this casual-friendly approach appears to be working for the brawler.

The combination of a beloved IP, a strong reputation for quality, and a broad-appeal strategy leaves Blizzard with the best odds of carving a new niche for itself in the MOBA sphere.

Heroes of Newerth

For a time, the big three MOBAs were Warcraft 3 Dota (WC3 Dota), League of Legends (LoL), and Heroes of Newerth (HoN). But since Dota 2’s announcement, HoN hasn’t fared nearly as well. A move to free-to-play came in 2011 just a year after release, and a further move to make all heroes free for all players a la Dota 2 followed a year after that. Despite an extensive overhaul in 2013, the game has never really recaptured its position in the genre.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Tencent, China’s LoL publisher, from picking up the Heroes of Newerth publishing license from developer S2 Games.