Upcoming MOBAs in 2015/2016

With Heroes of the Storm officially entering the MOBA market earlier this year, the field seems to be getting more and more crowded. Despite no new game managing to take significant share from League of Legends, more and more game companies are throwing their hat into the ring. Below are a list of upcoming MOBAs which have already been announced and are set to launch later this year or early next year. Will any of these new MOBAs manage to capture a large enough playerbase to thrive? Only time will tell.

Warhammer 40K: Dark Nexus Arena

Warhammer 40K: Dark Nexus Arena is a 4v4 sci-fi themed MOBA set in Game Workshop's Warhammer: 40,000 universe. It's the first free to play Warhammer: 40K game and even though Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes and Warhammer Online flopped, the 40K universe and sci-fi environments should help the game distinguish itself from other MOBAs. Instead of simply fighting to destroy the enemy's base, the first team to reach 100 points wins. A typical game is expected to take less than 30 minutes, quite a bit less than League or Dota.

Supernova

Supernova aims to bring the MOBA genre back to its RTS roots by emphasizing the importance of minion/creep waves. Players can spend their in-game currency on spawning new units or upgrading their existing ones. Players still have control over a single hero, called a commander, but minions/creeps are expected to play a key role in the game. Supernova has already undergone several rounds of alpha testing and is making strong progress towards release.

Master X Master

Master X Master is NCSoft's attempt at unifying their portfolio of gaming characters in a single MOBA (think Heroes of the Storm). Players can play as characters from popular NCSoft titles like Aion, Blade and Soul, WildStar, Lineage, and more. Unlike other MOBAs, Master X Master also has some PvE content, namely 25+ maps and dungeons with various difficulty settings. The game began its open beta test in South Korea on May 1, 2015.

Gigantic

Gigantic is a gorgeous action oriented MOBA from Motiga that's set to launch later in 2015. The game's distinct art style and action oriented combat sets it apart from other MOBAs. It's set to launch on Windows 10 and Xbox One exclusively. Like Supernova, the computer controll minions are supposed to play a bigger role than other MOBAs, but not nearly to the same extent as in Supernova.

Battleborn

Battleborn isn't exclusively a MOBA, but it does feature a MOBA mode called Incursion. The game's developer, Gearbox (Think Borderlands) labels the game as a team based “hero-shooter”. The game is set to launch worldwide in Q4 2015 or Q1 2016 with 25+ playable heroes.

I'm personally looking forward to trying Supernova and Gigantic. The emphasis on the creep wave sounds interesting and introduces a new strategy element to the genre. The graphics in Gigantic look gorgeous and remind me of Wind Waker and Team Fortress 2 - two awesome games.