Dota 2 is a popular game and an esport title that is enjoyed by gamers and fans all over the world. It is one of several MOBA games (multiplayer online battle arena) that have grown in prominence in recent years. Other kinds of MOBAs include League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Smite and Strife. There are well over 11 million people playing Dota 2 in any given month, which highlights just how popular this game is.
On average, the game had just over 50,000 average concurrent players on Steam back in July 2012, and recent statistics demonstrate how much it has grown over the past few years. In our review, you can find out about the history of Dota 2 and how the game works; you can also learn about the competitive Dota 2 scene and why this esport is played by so many.
Keep in mind, Dota 2 is not for everyone. If you can’t be bothered to spend hours – or days / weeks – learning about the game and figuring out how it works, it’s probably not the right choice for you. However, if you love a challenge, and are keen to develop your strategic thinking and cognitive flexibility – you’ll get immense satisfaction when you defeat your opponents.
Learn more about Dota 2’s development over the years
Before we had Dota 2, there was Defense of the Ancients (DotA). Defense of the Ancients is a multiplayer online battle arena game that was originally created on a community basis as an extension mod to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne.
The mod was first developed by Kyle “Eul” Sommer back in 2002. Since the initial release development has traded hands to Steve “Guinsoo” Feak and eventually Abdul “IceFrog” Ismail. All three of this tree main “developers” of Dota are now employed by MOBA developers Riot Games (Guinsoo) and Valve (IceFrog). Dota 2 being the sequel to Defense of the Ancients was introduced to the esports industry in 2013 by Valve Corporation. It was the brainchild of IceFrog, a developer who has achieved some notoriety in the past, not least because he refuses to reveal his identity. After stepping down from maintaining Defense of the Ancients, he spent some time working on Heroes of Newerth with S2 Games before moving to Valve and beginning his work on Dota 2.
Dota 2 was first introduced in July 2013 on Steam for use on computers supported by Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. This release was the follow-up to the initial beta testing phase that lasted approximately two years. Since Dota 2 was first made available, it has been played by millions of esports fans around the globe.
