DOTA Scene in India- A giant past its prime?

The game faces a slippery slope in the Indian Esports Scene

DOTA 2, at one time the biggest name in Esports in India, is facing a seemingly unstoppable decline. With the rise of handheld titles like PUBG and increase in popularity of other games like CS:GO, DOTA has been unable to keep up so far. 

So what are the reasons for the decline and is there a way back?

DOTA’s Decline- inevitable or just a failure to adapt?

DOTA 2 used to be of the most popular Esports in India along with
commanding a lion’s share of total Esports revenue. The game peaked in popularity during the 2016-17 season, and has been in decline since. What’s surprising is the fact that despite an increase in tournament prize pools, general interest in the game has been declining. This is seen through declining numbers in viewership, tournament participation and general interest. This is one of the reasons tournament organizers are now focusing on games like counter strike and the increasingly popular PUBG.

Another consequence of declining popularity of the game is closing down of some or most of the DOTA esports teams. Teams such as Entity gaming, Reckoning Esports, Signify and Global Esports have disbanded their esports roosters.

New organisations like Fnatic and Orange rock esports have also shown a lack of interest in entering the DOTA scene. Preferring to invest in other games. The sad part is, without a stable income provided by an organisation, players are less likely to pick up the esport. This is troublesome for a game with an already limited talent pool in India. 

While DOTA and CS:GO had a combined viewership of 7.7 k at the Taiwan Excellence gaming cup. PUBG alone had viewership of 63.6 k as an average in the PMCO 2019 Fall South Africa.  Viewership numbers like this make it obvious perhaps for organisations to curtail or avoid investments altogether in DOTA 2.

This, along with the declining number of DOTA 2 tournaments held in India, it’s hard to see a bright future for the game. The only plausible option is if Valve itself intervenes; this seems unlikely, as such a move wouldn’t be in the interest of the game itself.