Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game created by Valve. It is a follow-up to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a game originally made by players as a modification for Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. In Dota 2, two teams of five players compete against each other. Each team defends its own base on the map, and every player controls a unique character called a hero. Heroes have special abilities and different ways to play. During a match, players earn experience points and items to help their heroes defeat the opposing team. A team wins by destroying the enemy team’s Ancient, a strong structure located in the center of each base.
Development of Dota 2 started in 2009 when IceFrog, the main designer of DotA, joined Valve to create a new version of the game using the Source game engine. The game was released for Windows, OS X, and Linux through Steam in July 2013 after a two-year open beta phase that only allowed Windows players. Dota 2 is free to play, and no characters or game features require purchase. Valve supports the game by selling virtual items, such as cosmetic upgrades and audio packs, through a system called Dota Plus. In 2015, the game was updated to use the Source 2 engine, making it the first game to do so.
Dota 2 has a large competitive gaming scene, with teams from around the world participating in professional leagues and tournaments. Valve organizes The International, the game’s main tournament, which happens every year. This tournament uses a system where fans donate money to fund prizes, and the total prize money has reached over $40 million, making Dota 2 one of the most profitable esports games. Tournament coverage includes on-site staff who provide commentary and analysis, similar to how sports events are reported. Matches are played in front of live audiences and also broadcast online and sometimes on television, with millions of viewers.
Although some people find Dota 2 difficult to learn and complex, it has been praised for its engaging gameplay, high-quality production, and similarity to its earlier version. It has been one of the most played games on Steam since its release, with over a million players online at the same time. The game’s popularity has led to merchandise, such as comic books and an anime series, as well as collaborations with other games and media. Players can create custom game modes, maps, and cosmetics, which are shared through Steam Workshop. Valve also released two related games: Artifact and Dota Underlords. Dota 2 has been used in experiments with artificial intelligence, including a team of computer-controlled players called the OpenAI Five, which demonstrated the ability to defeat professional players.
Gameplay
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game where two teams of five players compete to destroy a large structure called the "Ancient" while protecting their own. The game is played on a single map viewed from a 3D side angle, using controls similar to real-time strategy games. Ten players control one of 127 characters called "heroes," each with unique designs, strengths, and weaknesses. Heroes are divided into two main roles: "core" and "support."
Cores, also called "carries," start weak but grow stronger over time, helping their team win. Supports focus on helping their team with abilities like healing or giving bonuses instead of dealing heavy damage. Before a match, players choose heroes during a drafting phase, where they can discuss strategies with teammates. Once a hero is chosen, it is no longer available for others, and choices cannot be changed after the drafting phase ends. Each hero has a basic attack and at least four unique abilities, with the most powerful one called the "ultimate," which becomes available at level 6.
To prevent overuse, abilities require "mana points," which regenerate slowly, and have cooldown periods during which they cannot be used again. All heroes have three attributes—strength, intelligence, and agility—that affect health, mana, and attack speed. Each hero has a primary attribute that boosts their basic damage and other effects. A "Talent Tree" system lets players choose how to improve their hero. If a hero loses all health, they are removed from play until a timer ends, at which point they return to their base with some gold lost.
The two teams, called "Radiant" and "Dire," start in opposite corners of the map, which is split by a river and connected by three paths called "lanes." Defensive towers on the map attack enemies that enter their sight. "Creeps," which are weak computer-controlled creatures, move along lanes and attack enemies. Creeps spawn from buildings called "barracks" in each lane. The map is covered in "fog of war," meaning players cannot see enemies unless they are nearby. The game has a day-night cycle, and some abilities change based on the time of day. "Neutral creeps," which are hostile to both teams, live in areas called "camps" in the "jungle" between lanes.
Neutral creeps do not attack unless attacked and respawn over time. The strongest neutral creep is "Roshan," who can be defeated by either team for special items, such as one that allows a hero to revive once if they die. Roshan respawns after about ten minutes and becomes harder to defeat as the game continues. "Runes," which are special items that appear at set locations, give temporary powerful effects like increased damage or invisibility.
Players can buy items from shops on the map that provide special abilities. Items are available to all heroes and require gold, which is earned by killing enemies, destroying structures, and defeating creeps. Only the player who lands the final blow on a creep gets gold from it, while all teammates share gold from killing enemy heroes. Players can "deny" their own units or structures to stop enemies from gaining experience. Gold is not shared between teammates, and each player keeps their own separate gold. Players earn a small amount of gold continuously throughout the game.
Dota 2 has different game types that change how heroes are selected. Examples include "All Pick," where players choose freely; "All Random," where heroes are assigned randomly; "Captain's Mode," where one player selects heroes for their team; and "Turbo," a faster version with more gold and faster respawns. Matches usually last 30 minutes to an hour, but can continue indefinitely if both teams protect their Ancients. In "Captain's Mode," players can use "GG" to end the game early. Special events, like "Diretide" for Halloween or "Frostivus" for Christmas, offer unique game modes. Other modes include a 10-versus-10 battle, a capture point game called "Colosseum," and a story-driven campaign.
In 2015, the game moved to the Source 2 engine, adding an "Arcade" feature for community-created game modes. One popular mode, "Dota Auto Chess," had over seven million players by 2019. Valve and the developers of Auto Chess could not agree on a collaboration, so Valve created its own version, "Dota Underlords," while the developers made a separate game called "Auto Chess" without using Dota 2 assets.
Development
The Dota series began in 2003 with a game called Defense of the Ancients (DotA), which was a modification of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. The game was created by someone who used the name "Eul." Later that year, an expansion called The Frozen Throne was released for Warcraft III, and many similar versions of DotA were made for the new game. The most popular version was called DotA: Allstars, created by Steve Feak. Feak and his friend Steve Mescon started a website and a company called DotA-Allstars, LLC to support the game. In 2005, Feak left the project, and a user named IceFrog took over as the lead designer. By the late 2000s, DotA had become one of the most popular game modifications worldwide and was widely played in esports competitions.
In 2009, IceFrog and Mescon had a disagreement, and IceFrog created a new website called playdota.com. Rob Pardo, a leader at Blizzard Entertainment, said the company had talked with IceFrog about making a MOBA (a type of strategy game) but decided not to proceed. Valve, another company, became interested in the Dota name when some of its employees, including Robin Walker and Erik Johnson, became fans of the game. They contacted IceFrog by email and later hired him to design a new version of the game. In October 2009, IceFrog announced his new role at Valve, and Dota 2 was officially announced in 2010.
Valve used the word "Dota," taken from the original game's name, for its new game. Erik Johnson said the name was not an acronym but a concept. After Dota 2 was announced, Valve filed a trademark claim to protect the name. Feak and Mescon, through their company, also filed a trademark claim for the name. Blizzard, which had bought DotA-Allstars, LLC from Riot Games, opposed Valve's claim, saying they owned the rights. The dispute was resolved in 2012, with Valve keeping the commercial rights to the name but allowing others to use it for non-commercial purposes. In 2017, a Chinese company called uCool challenged Valve's ownership, claiming the Dota name was open-source and belonged to the community. A judge denied uCool's request, and Blizzard dismissed all claims against them.
When developing Dota 2, Valve aimed to keep the style of the original game but used the Source engine. The game's factions were renamed Radiant and Dire instead of Sentinel and Scourge. Many elements from the original game, like character names and abilities, were kept, though some changes were made due to trademarks. IceFrog said the game would stay true to the original's core ideas. Valve hired Eul and other contributors from the DotA community, including artist Kendrick Lim, to help create the sequel. They also worked with outside creators and hired writers and composers, like Jason Hayes, to make the game's story and music. Voice actors such as Nolan North and Ellen McLain provided voices for the game's characters.
The Source engine was updated to support Dota 2, including better graphics and lighting. The game includes Steam integration, which allows players to save settings and connect with others. In 2013, Valve added a coaching system for players to learn from experienced players. Players can watch live matches and compete in local events. Some matches can be viewed by buying tickets through the "Dota Store," with part of the money going to event organizers. The game also has a fantasy sports system where players can bet on teams and players. In 2016, Valve added virtual reality support, letting players watch matches with others in VR.
In 2012, Gabe Newell, a leader at Valve, said Dota 2 would be free to play, with money coming from selling cosmetic items in the "Dota Store." All heroes were available for free at launch, but players could buy early access bundles before the game's release in 2013. The game includes tools called the Dota 2 Workshop Tools, which let players create new items and game modes. Popular items made by players can be sold in the in-game store. This system was inspired by Team Fortress 2, where players earned over $3.5 million from selling items by 2011. By 2015, Dota 2 had made over $238 million in revenue from virtual goods. In 2016, Valve introduced a "Custom Game Pass" for creators, allowing them to earn money through microtransactions.
Dota 2 uses a ranking system based on a score called "matchmaking rating" (MMR). This score is tracked separately for players in different roles, such as core and support.
Release
Dota 2 was released to the public at Gamescom in 2011, at the same time as the first International championship, which is the game's main esports tournament. At the event, Valve, the company that created the game, began sending out invitations for a closed beta test to DotA players and event attendees. The game was originally planned to be released publicly in 2012, but Valve changed this plan because it would have kept the game in a closed beta state for over a year. Because of this, Valve ended the confidentiality agreement and moved the game into an open beta in September 2011, allowing players to talk about the game and their experiences publicly.
After nearly two years of testing, Dota 2 was released on Steam for Windows on July 9, 2013, and for OS X and Linux on July 18, 2013. The game did not include all the heroes from Defense of the Ancients at launch. Instead, the missing heroes were added in updates after the game was released, with the last one and the first original Dota 2 hero added in 2016. Two months after the game's release, Newell, a leader at Valve, said that updates to Dota 2 generated up to three percent of global internet traffic. In December 2013, the final limits on global access to Dota 2 were removed after the game's servers and infrastructure were improved. To follow laws in certain countries, Valve chose to work with local developers for publishing. In October 2012, a Chinese game publisher named Perfect World announced it had the rights to distribute the game in China. The Chinese version includes a "Low Violence" mode that removes most blood, gore, and skulls to meet the country's censorship rules. In November 2012, a similar deal was made with Nexon, a South Korean company, to distribute the game in South Korea and Japan. Three years later, Nexon stopped operating servers for Dota 2, and Valve took over direct distribution and marketing in those regions.
In December 2016, Dota 2 was updated to gameplay version 7.00, also called "The New Journey" update. Before this update, the game had been in version 6.xx for over a decade, which was the first major change since IceFrog took over development of the original mod in the mid-2000s. The New Journey update added and changed many features, including the first original hero not based on Defense of the Ancients, a redesigned map, a new user interface, a pre-game phase for team strategy discussions, and a "Talent Tree" system for abilities. In April 2017, Valve changed the game's ranked matchmaking system, requiring players to link a unique phone number to their account to prevent unfair play, a practice also used in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In November 2017, Valve replaced the old numerical MMR system with a seasonal one based on eight ranked tiers that reset every six months, making the system similar to those in other competitive games like Global Offensive, StarCraft, and League of Legends.
For most of 2018, Valve changed how it handled gameplay balance updates. Instead of releasing large updates at irregular times, smaller updates were released every two weeks. Around the same time, the game introduced the "Dota Plus" monthly subscription, which replaced seasonal battle passes tied to Major tournaments. In addition to offering the same rewards as battle passes, Dota Plus added a hero-specific achievement system that gives players exclusive cosmetics for completing tasks, as well as tools to view hero and game statistics from thousands of recent matches.
Esports
To help more players try Dota 2 and share it with new fans, Valve invited sixteen skilled Defense of the Ancients esports teams to compete in a Dota 2-specific tournament at Gamescom in August 2011. This event became an annual competition called The International. Starting with The International 2013, the prize money was raised through an in-game item called the "Compendium." Players could buy the Compendium to get special in-game items and rewards. Twenty-five percent of all money earned from Compendium sales went to the prize pool. The 2013 Compendium raised over $2.8 million, making it the largest prize pool in esports history at that time. From 2015 to 2021, each International event had a larger prize pool than the one before it, with The International 2021 reaching $40 million.
In the early 2010s, during Dota 2’s beta phase, other esports events began hosting Dota 2 competitions, including the Electronic Sports World Cup, DreamHack, World Cyber Games, and ESL. By the end of 2011, Dota 2 was one of the highest-paying esports games, second only to StarCraft II. At E3 2013, a South Korean company called Nexon announced a $1.7 million investment in local Dota 2 leagues in their country, which also included a partnership with Valve to distribute the game. In February 2015, Valve held the Dota 2 Asia Championships in Shanghai, raising over $3 million through Compendium sales. By June 2017, professional Dota 2 tournaments had given out over $100 million in total prizes, with more than half of that amount awarded at The International events, making Dota 2 the highest-earning esports game at the time.
From late 2015 to early 2017, Valve sponsored smaller tournaments called the Dota Major Championships, each with a fixed prize pool of $3 million. These events used a format similar to the same-name tournaments for Valve’s game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The International 2016 and 2017 were considered the cumulative Majors for their respective seasons. Other Major events included the Frankfurt Major, Shanghai Major, Manila Major, Boston Major, and Kiev Major. After The International 2017, the Majors were replaced with the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) format because teams and fans criticized Valve’s unclear and unpredictable process for selecting International participants. In the DPC, teams earned points for performing well in tournaments, with the top twelve teams receiving direct invitations to The International. Valve managed the scheduling of these events to avoid conflicts with other tournaments. The DPC ended after the 2023 season. Since The International 2024, some teams receive direct invitations, while others qualify through regional competitions.
Most professional Dota 2 events are covered on the live streaming platform Twitch. For major tournaments, dedicated esports organizations and commentators provide on-site analysis, interviews, and game commentary, similar to how traditional sports events are covered. Dota 2 tournaments have also been broadcast on television networks, including ESPN in the United States, BBC Three in the United Kingdom, Sport1 in Germany, TV 2 Zulu in Denmark, Xinwen Lianbo in China, Astro in Malaysia, and TV5 in the Philippines.
Reception
Dota 2 received very high praise from review websites, including Metacritic, and is often called one of the greatest video games ever made. In 2012, Rich McCormick of PC Gamer said the game was "deep and complex," offering the best version of the original Defense of the Ancients. Adam Biessener of Game Informer praised Valve, the company that made the game, for keeping the same rules and balance that made the original game successful. Quintin Smith of Eurogamer called Dota 2 "the supreme form of the MOBA," a type of game where players team up to fight. Reviewers most often praised the game's depth, how it was made, and its balance. Chris Thursten of PC Gamer said the gameplay was "deep and rewarding."
Martin Gaston of GameSpot praised Valve for the game's art, design, and how it was made, saying it was better than other games in its category. Phill Cameron of IGN and James Kozanitis of Hardcore Gamer said Dota 2's free-to-play model, which only sells cosmetic items, was better than other games like League of Legends, which charges players to unlock characters. Nick Kolan of IGN compared Dota 2's model to Valve's Team Fortress 2. In 2016, the game added support for virtual reality (VR), which reviewers like Ben Kuchera of Polygon and Chris Thursten of PC Gamer called "amazing" and "incredible." Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica said the VR feature could attract both gamers and non-gamers.
Most reviewers gave Dota 2 very positive reviews, but some said the game is hard to learn and requires a lot of effort. Fredrik Åslund of Gamereactor said his first match was one of the hardest experiences he had ever had, calling the game's learning curve and player attitudes unwelcoming. Benjamin Danneberg of GameStar called the learning curve a "learning cliff" and said the tutorial was not very helpful. A review in Metro said the game did not fix the learning issues from the original Defense of the Ancients, and the community was often hostile. Peter Bright of Ars Technica criticized third-party websites for allowing gambling with in-game items, similar to issues in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Australian senator Nick Xenophon wanted to create laws to limit underage gambling in video games, including Dota 2. Valve and project manager Erik Johnson said they would take action against third-party sites that broke their rules.
Dota 2 is often compared to other MOBA games like League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm. T. J. Hafer of PC Gamer said Dota 2 was a "superior experience" because it focused on counterplay, where heroes are designed to fight each other directly. He also preferred Dota 2's system of unlocking all heroes from the start, unlike League of Legends. Jason Parker of CNET said Heroes of the Storm was easier to learn, but Dota 2 had more depth for players who wanted to master it. Players from the team OG said Heroes of Newerth players could easily switch to Dota 2 because the games are similar. Like other competitive games, Dota 2 has a reputation for a "toxic" community. A 2019 report found that up to 79% of players had been harassed, which was the highest rate among games studied.
After its release in 2011, Dota 2 won IGN's People's Choice Award. In 2012, PC Gamer nominated it for Game of the Year and best esports game. In 2013, it won awards for best esports game from PC Gamer and onGamers, and GameTrailers named it Best PC Game of 2013. IGN also gave it awards for Best PC Strategy & Tactics Game, Best PC Multiplayer Game, and People's Choice Award. Game Informer recognized it for Best PC Exclusive, Best Competitive Multiplayer, and Best Strategy of 2013. Destructoid nominated it for several awards, and it received the most votes among nine nominees. At the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, Dota 2 was nominated for "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year." It was also nominated for best multiplayer game at the 2014 British Academy Games Awards but lost to Grand Theft Auto V. Dota 2 was nominated for Esports Game of the Year at The Game Awards from 2015 to 2019 and again in 2025, winning best MOBA at the 2015 Global Game Awards. It was also nominated for the "Love/Hate Relationship" award at the 2016 Steam Awards. In the late 2010s, it was nominated for Choice Video Game at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Esports Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, and as IGN's best spectator game.
Legacy
Before its release, Dota 2 was already the most played game on Steam, with nearly 330,000 players online at the same time. This number was greater than the combined total of players for the other nine most-played games on the platform. Dota 2 stayed as the most played game on Steam for four years, reaching over one million players at its peak. It remained in first place until 2017, when it was surpassed by PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Professional Dota 2 leagues and tournaments have large audiences, with millions of people watching events like The International. Some schools and universities in Asia, such as the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation in Malaysia, have taught classes about the game’s basics and skills. Dota 2 has also been part of international events, including the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and the Southeast Asian Games.
Valve, the company that created Dota 2, made products like clothing, accessories, and figurines featuring characters from the game. Valve also worked with other companies to produce items, such as a SteelSeries mousepad with a Dota 2 theme, which was announced at Gamescom 2011. In 2012, Wētā Workshop, a company known for creating the "Aegis of Champions" trophy for The International, released a line of products including statues and armor based on game characters. In 2013, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association introduced a toy line with action figures of Dota 2 heroes. At Gamescom 2015, a virtual reality demo called "Secret Shop" allowed players to interact with game items in VR. This demo was later added to Valve’s VR game collection. After The International 2015, Valve gave out brass replicas of the "Aegis of Champions" trophy to players who reached 1,000 levels in the game. In 2016, Valve sold a limited-edition VR headset themed around Dota 2. In 2017, an 18-track music album was released, and in 2018, a digital collectible card game called Artifact was launched.
Dota 2 has included special features from other games and media, such as custom announcers from titles like Half-Life 2, Portal, and Rick and Morty. Music artists like deadmau5 and JJ Lin created soundtracks that replaced the game’s default music. In 2015, a bundle with custom items from Final Fantasy Type-0 HD was added. In 2016, Valve held a contest for Total War: Warhammer, with winning designs added to the game. In 2017, a cosmetic set based on the Portal series was released, and a character from Ōkami was added as a courier for players who pre-ordered the game.
Valve produced a documentary called Free to Play in 2014, which followed players at the first International in 2011. American basketball player Jeremy Lin appeared in the film and compared Dota 2 to traditional sports. In 2016, Valve began a documentary series called True Sight, which followed professional teams during tournaments. Valve also supports cosplay contests and short film competitions at Dota 2 events. Free webcomics about the game’s characters were created, and a physical collection was published in 2017. An anime series called Dota: Dragon's Blood premiered on Netflix in 2021.
Dota 2 has been used in artificial intelligence research. OpenAI, a research company, created the OpenAI Five, a team of AI bots that learned to play Dota 2 through trial and error. The bots practiced by playing against themselves and were rewarded for actions like killing enemies or destroying towers. In 2017, a bot defeated a professional player in a live match. In 2018, the OpenAI Five team beat a group of semi-professional players and later played against top players at The International 2018. In 2019, the bots defeated the reigning International champions, OG.