Artifact could broaden DOTA appeal, but Valve should consider mobile to make it a smash hit, analysts say

pcgamesinsider.biz:

Valve’s newly-announced DOTA collectable card game (CCG) Artifact could be key to broadening the appeal of the hardcore MOBA.

Little is known about the game right now, with Valve just releasing a rather vague teaser trailer yesterday at The International 2017. We don't even know what platforms it is coming to – but given where the game was revealed, our money is on it coming to PC for sure. 

Speaking to PCGamesInsider.biz, IHS Markit's director of games Piers Harding-Rolls says that Valve’s venture in the billion-dollar CCG market will be a boon to the competitive brand.

“I think this is a positive move. The CCG sector is highly competitive, but Valve enjoys an established base of DOTA 2 gamers that will be interested in this new title so I think its likelihood of finding initial success is high and that will provide a solid platform from which to work from,” he explained.

“Blizzard’s Hearthstone strategy springs to mind, but it is likely there will be additional synergies here between Artifact and DOTA 2. These include Artifact broadening the audience for the DOTA 2 franchise and acting as a gateway to the MOBA experience; adding another dimension to Valve’s eSports and video streamed properties and, perhaps most significantly, giving Valve a property, similar to Hearthstone, that is likely to work as well on mobile as it does PC.

"In fact Artifact could be Valve’s first major foray into the mobile games and eSports scene, which will extend Steam’s horizontal platform role more significantly to other device categories.”

Ico Partners’ Thomas Bidaux CEO says that digital card games are a low-risk investment, but that Valve’s strong DOTA IP will contribute to Artifact’s success.

“CCGs as a genre are still subject to a lot