After shutting down servers in 2022, Heroes of Newerth returns as HoN: Reborn.
All the way back in 2005, the development of a new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) began, following in the footsteps of Defense of the Ancients (DotA). At the time, the genre was still growing and had a niche following. As the player base for DotA began to grow, so did they look to different games within the genre. This is where the Heroes of Newerth (HoN) story began.
Fast forward to 2009, and HoN went into a closed beta and had a massive amount of interest before its pre-sale even began. The following year saw an open beta and the initial release of the title.
This was one of the first games that came from the popular Warcraft 3 mod, DotA – and it was great. Along the HoN journey, the developers made the game entirely free-to-play, updated the graphics, plus improved the gameplay and the overall feel of the game.
Sadly, after all of this work and continued efforts to keep the game afloat, Frostburn Studios shut down the HoN servers on June 20, 2022. However, on January 28, 2025, an official announcement arrived, confirming that HoN would be returning as Heroes of Newerth: Reborn.
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According to the official HoN website, Reborn will be a modernized version of the game, combining the nostalgia for veteran players with improvements for new players while keeping the game the same.
"After years of community support and the dedication of a passionate fan base, we are beyond excited to bring Heroes of Newerth back to life. This isn’t just a relaunch, but a reimagining of what the game can be in today’s competitive gaming world. From the visuals to the network performance, we’ve worked hard to bring the best possible experience to both veteran players and newcomers."
The return of HoN has come as a result of a collaboration between Kongor Studios and Garena, as the game will launch as a free-to-play game on the iGames platform. Some of the features which HoN: Reborn will see available are:
- Over 80 heroes on release with more planned for the future
- 100-tick servers for optimal gameplay
- Revamped audio and visuals
- New objectives
- Role queue
While no date has been set for the official release of HoN: Reborn, the website does allow you to sign up for an account and await the launch. From what we have seen, the newly refreshed game looks fantastic, but whether it will stand up to the MOBA giants that are Dota 2, League of Legends, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang remains to be seen.
We will have further news on the launch details of HoN: Reborn when they become available. Until then, stick around on esports.gg for all things gaming.
