MOBAs or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games see teams of players face off in a competitive environment, each piloting a unique character with their own set of abilities. The genre is dominated by League of Legends and to a lesser extent Dota 2, but other MOBA games occasionally have their moment in the sun.
More niche MOBA games tend to find success either upon release or by featuring unique twists on the genre that appeals to fans. However, despite retaining a handful of dedicated fans, most MOBA games fail to compete with the titans of the genre and eventually all but die out just like other games, such as MMOs. Due to the competitive nature of the genre, MOBA games tend to include a big esports scene and so other than declining player counts, the number of viewers tuning in to watch their favorite teams can also be used as a metric to see which MOBAs are almost dead. Steam Charts has been predominantly used for stats.
5 Heroes Of The Storm
Year Released | All-Time Peak Viewers On Twitch | Peak Twitch Viewers For 2023 |
2015 | 126,121* | 21,785* |
While some games slowly die out due to a receding player base, Blizzard's MOBA Heroes of the Storm is a game that instead seems to have been abandoned by its own developers, with no updates since early 2022. The decline in popularity can be seen as a huge drop-off in views on Twitch. This is sad to see for a game that was once not only one of the best MOBAs but also one of the most unique in the genre.
Unlike other MOBAs which tend to be played on one map, this game features many battle arenas each with their own objectives, and players also have the option to get around faster with the use of mounts. Outside of gameplay, one of the major draws of Heroes of the Storm was always the fact that players could play as their favorite characters from other hit Blizzard games such as Overwatch and Diablo.
4 Awesomenauts
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Year Released | All-Time Peak Steam Player Count | Peak Steam Player Count In The Last 30 Days |
2012 | 12,050* | 218* |
When lined up against other MOBA games, Awesomenauts is easily the most distinguishable due to the fact that it is a 2D side-scroller. Its quirky sci-fi design also sets it apart from its rivals and is surprisingly one of the MOBAs with the best world-building. In terms of gameplay, Awesomenauts differs from many other MOBAs in that teams are only made up of three players as opposed to the standard of five. As it is a 2D game, it is also able to feature aspects of 2D platformer games.
However, despite once peaking at around 12,000 players back in September 2013, only a couple hundred players still seem to play Awesomenauts on Steam, although it is also available on various consoles. As development has stopped indefinitely for the game, it appears there is little hope for the future of this fun game.
3 Battlerite
Year Released | All-Time Peak Steam Player Count | Peak Steam Player Count In The Last 30 Days |
2016 | 44,850* | 312* |
Battlerite, the successor to Bloodline Champions is what mixing a MOBA, a top-down shooter, and a battle royale game looks like. It takes the best features of each and combines them to produce a game that is highly rated. For example one of the best things about MOBAs are the unique characters that have super fun and overpowered abilities, something that Battlerite delivers on brilliantly. Unlike traditional MOBAs though, there are no real objectives in Battlerite other than killing opponents, nor are there any type of minions or neutral monsters.
Despite the fun nature of the game and once boasting a peak player count of over 44,000 on Steam in November 2017, the game now only sees a few hundred players at once, and this has sadly been the case for many years now. Additionally, the game has been in maintenance mode since late 2019, and it is unlikely that development would ever continue, meaning that eventually, Battlerite will die out.
2 Paladins: Champions Of The Realm
Year Released | All-Time Peak Steam Player Count | Peak Steam Player Count In The Last 30 Days |
2016 | 60,566* | 11,348* |
While Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a first-person shooter it also incorporates many features of MOBA games. Close to the game's release in 2018, Paladins peaked at just over 60,000 players and doubtless many more on the various consoles it is available on. However, nowadays, Paladins is only appearing to bring in around 11,000 players at a time on Steam.
One of the biggest problems for Paladins has always been competing with the Overwatch games which are similar but have fewer MOBA features. While the game isn't dead yet, the future does not look bright.
1 Eternal Return
Year Released | All-Time Peak Steam Player Count | Peak Steam Player Count In The Last 30 Days |
2020 | 52,228* | 6,725* |
Eternal Return is an exciting blend of the MOBA, Battle Royale, and Survival genres, with an anime aesthetic and feel. Just like in any MOBA, there are many playable characters in Eternal Return, known as Test Subjects, and players must do all they can to survive on Lumia Island.
The game is still in the early access stage of development, so even though its player base has drastically dropped off, and the game is almost dead, there is still hope for this unique twist on the MOBA genre.