Dota 2

Dota 2 is Valve’s standalone successor to Defense of the Ancients, the Warcraft III custom map whose competitive rule set was shaped by designer IceFrog. Valve announced the project in 2010 and released Dota 2 publicly in 2013. Before release, the company staged the first International at Gamescom in Cologne in 2011. Natus Vincere won that tournament, defeating EHOME in the final and collecting a $1 million first prize. It was an unusually prominent debut for a game still being tested.

Each match pits the Radiant against the Dire, with five players on each side trying to destroy the opposing Ancient. Three lanes connect their bases, while defensive towers, periodically spawning creeps, and a jungle of neutral camps structure the map. Players choose from a large roster of heroes with distinct abilities and earn gold and experience during the match. Gold buys items from shops, including powerful equipment assembled from components. Teams also contest Roshan, a neutral boss whose Aegis of the Immortal lets its holder revive after death. Unlike many arena games, Dota 2 allows players to deny allied creeps, limiting an opponent’s rewards.

Dota 2 runs on Valve’s Source 2 engine following the 2015 Reborn update, which also redesigned its interface and introduced tools for custom games. The December 2016 update titled 7.00 added hero talent trees and introduced Monkey King. In April 2023, the New Frontiers update enlarged the playable map and added features including Twin Gates, Lotus Pools, and Tormentors. The 2024 update 7.36 introduced innate abilities and hero facets, giving players additional choices before and during matches. These changes illustrate how substantially the rules have evolved since launch.

The International became Dota 2’s flagship championship, with prize pools boosted by sales of in-game compendiums and Battle Passes. Its 2021 edition, known as The International 10 despite being held a year later than originally planned, had a prize pool exceeding $40 million. OG won the tournament in both 2018 and 2019, becoming its first back-to-back champion. Team Spirit won in 2021 and again in 2023. The competition’s best-of-five grand finals have produced memorable reversals, including OG’s 3–2 victory over PSG.LGD in 2018 and Team Spirit’s 3–2 win over PSG.LGD in 2021.

Beyond the game, Netflix released the animated series Dota: Dragon’s Blood in 2021. It follows Dragon Knight Davion and Princess Mirana, drawing on characters and lore from Dota 2 rather than directly recreating tournament matches.