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Dota 2
Dota 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video
Dota 2
game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The game is the
stand-alone sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), which was a
community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign
of Chaos and its expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Dota 2 is played in
matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and Developer(s) Valve Corporation
defending their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players
Publisher(s) Valve Corporation
independently controls a powerful character, known as a "hero", who all
Producer(s) Erik Johnson
have unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a match, players
collect experience points and items for their heroes to successfully battle Designer(s) IceFrog
the opposing team's heroes in player versus player combat. A team wins by Writer(s) Marc Laidlaw
being the first to destroy a large structure located in the opposing team's Ted Kosmatka
base, called the "Ancient". Kris Katz

Development of Dota 2 began in 2009 when IceFrog, lead designer of the Composer(s) Jason Hayes
original Defense of the Ancients mod, was hired by Valve to create a Tim Larkin
modernized sequel. Dota 2 was officially released for Microsoft Windows, Engine Source 2
OS X, and Linux-based personal computers via the digital distribution
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
platform Steam in July 2013, following a Windows-only public beta phase
Linux
that began two years prior. The game initially used the original Source
OS X
game engine until it was ported to Source 2 in 2015, making it the first
game to use it. As the game is fully free-to-play with no heroes needing to Release Windows
be bought or unlocked, revenue is made from microtransactions, July 9, 2013
specifically loot boxes, battle passes, and a monthly-based subscription Linux, OS X
system called Dota Plus, which all offer non-gameplay altering virtual July 18, 2013
goods, such as cosmetic hero armor and weapon replacements, in return. Genre(s) Multiplayer online
The game has also been updated with various other features since release, battle arena
such as support for virtual reality (VR). Mode(s) Single-player,
multiplayer
Despite some criticism going towards its steep learning curve and
complexity, the game was praised for its rewarding gameplay, production quality, and faithfulness to its predecessor,
with multiple gaming publications later considering it to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Since its
release, Dota 2 has been one of the most played games on Steam, with over a million concurrent players at its peak.
The popularity of the game has led to official merchandise for it being produced, including apparel, accessories, and
toys, as well as promotional tie-ins to other games and media. The game also allows for the community to create
custom game modes, maps, and hero cosmetics, which are uploaded to the Steam Workshop and curated by Valve. A
digital collectible card game spin-off by Valve, titled Artifact, will be released in late 2018.

Dota 2 has a widespread and active competitive scene, with teams from across the world playing professionally in
various leagues and tournaments. Premium Dota 2 tournaments often have prize pools totaling millions of U.S.
dollars, the highest of any eSport. The largest of them is known as The International, which is produced annually by
Valve and most commonly held at the KeyArena in Seattle. Valve also manages an event format known as the Dota Pro
Circuit, which are a series of tournaments held annually that award qualification points based on results for getting
directly invited to The International. For most tournaments, media coverage is done by a selection of on-site staff who
provide commentary and analysis for the ongoing matches, similar to traditional sporting events. Broadcasts of

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professional Dota 2 matches are streamed live over the internet, and sometimes simulcast on television networks, with
peak viewership numbers in the millions. The game has also been used in machine learning experiments, with
OpenAI-curated bots playing against professional players.

Contents
Gameplay
Development
Port to the Source 2 engine
Release
Professional competition
Dota Pro Circuit
Media coverage
Reception
Awards and accolades
Legacy
References
External links

Gameplay
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video
game in which two teams of five players compete to
collectively destroy a large structure defended by the
opposing team known as the "Ancient", whilst defending
their own.[1][2] As in Defense of the Ancients, the game is
controlled using standard real-time strategy controls,
and is presented on a single map in a three-dimensional
isometric perspective.[1][3] Ten players each control one
of the game's 116 playable characters, known as "heroes",
with each having their own design, strengths, and
A game of Dota 2 in progress, showing the Radiant
weaknesses.[1][2][4] Heroes are divided into two primary team inside their base at the beginning of a match
roles, known as the "carry" and "support".[5][6] Carries,
which are also called "cores", begin each match as weak
and vulnerable, but are able to become more powerful later in the game, thus becoming able to "carry" their team to
victory.[7][5] Supports generally lack abilities that deal heavy damage, instead having ones with more functionality and
utility that provide assistance for their carries, such as providing healing and other buffs.[8][5][6] Players select their
hero during a pre-game drafting phase, where they can also discuss potential strategies and hero matchups with their
teammates.[2][5][6] Heroes can not be switched mid-game, and once one is selected, they are removed from the drafting
pool and become unavailable for all other players.

All heroes have a basic damage-dealing attack, in addition to powerful abilities. Each hero has at least four abilities, all
of which are unique, which are the primary method of fighting.[3][8] Heroes begin each game with an experience level
of one, only having access to one of their abilities, but are able to level up and become more powerful during the course
of the game, up to a maximum level of 25.[2][5] Whenever a hero gains an experience level, the player is able to unlock
another of their abilities or improve one already learned.[2][5] The most powerful ability for each hero is known as their
"ultimate", which requires them to have an experience level of six in order to use.[6] In order to prevent abilities from
being used without consequence, a magic system in the game exists. Activating an ability costs a hero some of their

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"mana points", which slowly regenerates over time.[3][9] Using an ability will also cause it to enter a cooldown phase, in
which the ability can not be used again until a timer counts down to zero. All heroes have three attributes: strength,
intelligence, and agility, which affect health points, mana points, and attack speed, respectively.[5] Each hero has one
primary attribute out of the three, which adds to their non-ability basic damage output when increased.[10][5] Heroes
also have an ability augmentation system known as "Talent Trees", which allow players further choices on how to
develop their hero.[5][6] If a hero runs out of health points and dies, they are removed from active play until a respawn
timer counts down to zero, where they are then respawned in their base.[11]

The two teams—known as the Radiant and Dire—occupy fortified bases in opposite corners of the map, which is
divided in half by a crossable river and connected by three paths, which are referred to as "lanes".[1][2] The lanes are
guarded by defensive towers that attack any opposing unit who gets within its line of sight.[2] A small group of weak
computer-controlled creatures called "creeps" travel predefined paths along the lanes and attempt to attack any
opposing heroes, creeps, and buildings in their way.[2][11][6] Creeps periodically spawn throughout the game in groups
from two buildings, called the "barracks", that exist in each lane and are located within the team's bases.[2][12][6] The
map is also permanently covered for both teams in fog of war, which prevents a team from seeing the opposing team's
heroes and creeps if they are not directly in sight of themselves or an allied unit. The map also features a day-night
cycle, with some hero abilities and other game mechanics being altered depending on the time of the cycle.[5] Also
present on the map are "neutral creeps" that are hostile to both teams, and reside in marked locations on the map
known as "camps". Camps are located in the area between the lanes known as the "jungle", which both sides of the
map have.[13][6] Neutral creeps do not attack unless provoked, and will respawn over time if killed. The most powerful
neutral creep is named "Roshan", who is a unique boss that may be defeated by either team to obtain special items,
such as one that allows a one-time resurrection if the hero that holds it is killed.[2][14][6] Roshan will respawn around
ten minutes after being killed, and becomes progressively harder to kill as the match progresses over time.[14] "Runes",
which are special items that spawn in set positions on the map every two minutes, offer heroes various powerful, but
temporary power-ups when collected.[5][6]

In addition to having abilities becoming stronger during the game, players are able to buy items from set locations on
the map called shops that provide their own special abilities.[2][14][15][6] Items are not limited to specific heroes, and
can be bought by anyone. In order to obtain an item, players must be able to afford it with gold at shops located on the
map, which is primarily obtained by killing enemy heroes, destroying enemy structures, and killing creeps, with the
latter being an act called "farming".[2][11][5] Only the hero that lands the killing blow on a creep obtains gold from it, an
act called "last hitting", but all allies receive a share of gold when an enemy hero dies close to them.[3][11] Players are
also able to "deny" allied units and structures by last hitting them, which then prevents their opponents from getting
full experience from them.[11][14] Gold can not be shared between teammates, with each player having their own
independent stash. Players also receive a continuous, but small stream of gold over the course of a match.[16][5]
Multiple game types in the game exist, which mainly alter the way hero selection is handled; examples include "All
Pick", which offer no restrictions on hero selection, "All Random", which randomly assigns a hero for each player,
"Captain's Mode", where a single player on each team selects heroes for their entire team and is primarily used for
professional play, and "Turbo", an expedited version of All Pick featuring increased gold and experience gain, weaker
towers, and faster respawn times.[17][18][19] Matches usually last around 30 minutes or more, although they can
theoretically last forever as long as both Ancients remain standing.[6][20] In Captain's Mode games, an additional "GG"
forfeit feature is available to end games early.[21]

Dota 2 also occasionally features limited-time events that present players with alternative game modes that do not
follow the game's standard rules.[22] Some of these included the Halloween-themed Diretide event,[23] the Christmas-
themed Frostivus event,[24] and the New Bloom Festival, which celebrated the coming of spring.[25] The move to the
Source 2 engine in 2015 also saw the addition of community-created custom game modes, known as the "Arcade", with
the more popular ones having dedicated server hosting by Valve.[26][27] Various games in the Arcade have also been
created by Valve themselves, including the Halloween-themed capture point mode "Colosseum", the combat arena

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mode "Overthrow", and a 10 versus 10 mode.[28][29][30] Starting in 2017, Valve began releasing special seasonal
gamemodes as a part of each year's International battle pass, such as "Siltbreaker", a story-driven cooperative
campaign mode, in 2017, and "The Underhollow", a battle royale mode, in 2018.[31][32]

Development
The Dota series began in 2003 with Defense of the Ancients
(DotA)—a mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign
of Chaos—created by the pseudonymous designer "Eul".[33] An
expansion pack for Warcraft III, titled The Frozen Throne, was
released later that year; a series of Defense of the Ancients clone
mods for the new game competed for popularity. DotA: Allstars
by Steve Feak was the most successful,[34] and Feak, with his
friend Steve Mescon, created the official Defense of the Ancients
community website and the holding company DotA-Allstars,
LLC.[35] When Feak retired from DotA: Allstars in 2005, a
friend, under the pseudonym "IceFrog", became its lead
Defense of the Ancients, the original mod from
designer.[36] By the late 2000s, Defense of the Ancients became
Warcraft III that Dota 2 was based on
one of the most popular mods in the world, as well as a
prominent eSports title.[37] IceFrog and Mescon later had a
falling out in May 2009, which prompted the former to establish a new community website at playdota.com.[38] Valve's
interest in the Defense of the Ancients property began when several veteran employees, including Team Fortress 2
designer Robin Walker and producer Erik Johnson, became fans of the mod and wanted to build a modern sequel.[39]
The company corresponded with IceFrog by email about his long-term plans for the project,[40] and he was
subsequently hired to direct a sequel.[41] IceFrog first announced his new position through his blog in October
2009,[42] with Dota 2 being publicly announced by Game Informer a year later.[43]

Valve adopted the word "Dota", derived from the original mod's acronym, as the name for its newly acquired
franchise. Johnson argued that the word referred to a concept, and was not an acronym.[41] Shortly after the
announcement of Dota 2, Valve filed a trademark claim to the Dota name.[44] At Gamescom 2011, company president
Gabe Newell explained that the trademark was needed to develop a sequel with the already-identifiable brand.[45]
Holding the Dota name to be a community asset, Feak and Mescon filed an opposing trademark for "DOTA" on behalf
of DotA-Allstars, LLC (then a subsidiary of Riot Games) in August 2010.[35] Rob Pardo, the executive vice president of
Blizzard Entertainment at the time, similarly stated that the DotA name belonged to the mod's community. Blizzard
acquired DotA-Allstars, LLC from Riot Games and filed an opposition against Valve in November 2011, citing
Blizzard's ownership of both the Warcraft III World Editor and DotA-Allstars, LLC as proper claims to the
franchise.[46] The dispute was settled in May 2012, with Valve retaining commercial franchising rights to the "Dota"
intellectual property, while allowing non-commercial use of the name by third-parties.[47] In 2017, Valve's ownership
of it was again challenged, after a 2004 internet forum post from Eul was brought to light by a Chinese company
known as uCool, who had released a mobile game in 2014 that used characters from the Dota universe.[48] uCool, who
was previously involved in a lawsuit with Blizzard in 2015 for similar reasons,[49] along with another Chinese company,
Lilith Games, argued that the forum post invalidated any ownership claims of the intellectual property, stating that the
Dota property was an open source, collective work that could not be copyrighted by anyone in particular.[48][50] Judge
Charles R. Breyer denied uCool's motion for summary dismissal, but allowed the case to be moved forward to a
jury.[48][51]

An early goal of the Dota 2 team was the adaptation of Defense of the Ancients's aesthetic style for the Source
engine.[43] The Radiant and Dire factions replaced the Sentinel and Scourge from the mod, respectively. Character
names, abilities, items and map design from the mod were largely retained, with some changes due to trademarks
owned by Blizzard. In the first Q&A session regarding Dota 2, IceFrog explained that the game would build upon the

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mod without making significant changes to its core.[41] Valve contracted major contributors from the Defense of the
Ancients community, including Eul and artist Kendrick Lim, to assist with the sequel.[52] Additional contributions
from sources outside of Valve were also sought regularly for Dota 2, as to continue Defense of the Ancients's tradition
of community-sourced development.[53] One of the composers of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Jason Hayes, was
hired to collaborate with Tim Larkin to write the original score for the game, which was conducted by Timothy
Williams and performed and recorded by the Northwest Sinfonia at Bastyr University.[54][55] Valve had Half-Life series
writer Marc Laidlaw, science fiction author Ted Kosmatka, and Steam support employee Kris Katz write new dialog
and background lore for the heroes.[56][57] Notable voice actors for the English version include Nolan North, Dave
Fennoy, Jon St. John, Ellen McLain, Fred Tatasciore, Merle Dandridge, Jen Taylor, and John Patrick Lowrie.[58]

The Source engine itself was updated with new features to accommodate Dota 2, such as high-end cloth modeling and
improved global lighting.[43] The game features Steam integration, which provides its social component and cloud
storage for personal settings. In November 2013, Valve introduced a coaching system, which allows experienced
players to tutor players with special in-game tools.[59] As with previous Valve multiplayer titles, players are able to
spectate live matches of Dota 2 played by others,[59] and local area network (LAN) multiplayer support allows for local
competitions.[60][61] Some of these events may be spectated via the purchase of tickets from the "Dota Store", which
give players in-game access to matches. Ticket fees are apportioned in part to tournament organizers.[62] The game
also features an in-game fantasy sports system, which is modeled after traditional fantasy sports and feature
professional Dota 2 players and teams.[63] Players are also able to spectate games in virtual reality (VR) with up to 15
others, which was added in an update in July 2016.[64] The update also added a hero showcase mode, which allows
players to see all of the heroes and their cosmetics full-size in virtual reality.[65]

Dota 2 includes a seasonal Elo rating-based matchmaking system, which is measured by a numerical value known as
"matchmaking rating" (MMR) and separated into different tiers. MMR is updated based on if a player's team won or
lost, which will then increase or decrease respectively.[66] The game's servers, known as the "Game Coordinator",[67]
attempts to balance both teams based on each player's MMR, with each team having roughly a 50% chance to win in
any given game.[66] Ranked game modes with a separately tracked MMR are also available, which primarily differ from
unranked games by making MMR publicly visible, as well as requiring the registration of a phone number to their
accounts, which help foster a more competitive environment.[66][68] To ensure that each player's ranking is up to date
and accurate, MMR is recalibrated around every six months.[69][70] Players with the highest possible medal rank are
listed by Valve on an online leaderboard, separated into North American, European, Southeast Asian, and Chinese
regions.[71] The game also includes a report system, which allows players to punish player behavior that intentionally
provides a negative experience.[72] Players who get reported enough or leave a number of games before they have
finished, a practice known in-game as "abandoning", are then placed into "low priority" matchmaking, which remains
on a player's account until they win a specific number of games, and only groups them with other players who also
have the same punishment.[73] Other features include an improved replay system from Defense of the Ancients, in
which a completed game can be downloaded in-client and viewed by anyone at a later time, and the "hero builds"
feature, which provide integrated guides created by the community that highlight to the player on how to play their
hero.[74]

As part of a plan to develop Dota 2 into a social network, Newell announced in April 2012 that the game would be free-
to-play, and that community contributions would be a cornerstone feature.[75] Instead, revenue is generated through
the "Dota Store", which offers for-purchase cosmetic virtual goods, such as custom armor and weapons for their
heroes.[76] It was also announced that the full roster of heroes would be available at launch for free.[77] Until the
game's official release in 2013, players were able to purchase an early access bundle, which included a digital copy of
Dota 2 and several cosmetic items.[78] Included as optional downloadable content (DLC), the Dota 2 Workshop Tools
are a set of Source 2 software development kit (SDK) tools that allow content creators to create new cosmetics for the
heroes themselves, as well as custom game modes, maps, and bot scripts.[79][80][81] Highly rated cosmetics, through the
Steam Workshop, are available in the in-game store if they are accepted by Valve. This model was fashioned after that
of Valve's Team Fortress 2, which had earned Workshop designers of cosmetic items of that game over $3.5 million by

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June 2011.[77] Newell revealed that the average Steam Workshop contributor for Dota 2 and Team Fortess 2 made
approximately $15,000 from their creations in 2013.[82] By 2015, sales of Dota 2 virtual goods had earned Valve over
$238 million in revenue, according to the digital game market research group SuperData.[83] In 2016, Valve
introduced the "Custom Game Pass" option for creators of custom game modes, which allows them to be funded by
way of microtransactions by adding exclusive features, content, and other changes to their game mode for players who
buy it.[84]

Port to the Source 2 engine

In June 2015, Valve announced that the entirety of Dota 2 would be ported over to their Source 2 game engine in an
update called Dota 2 Reborn.[85] Reborn was first released to the public as an opt-in beta update that same month,[86]
and officially replaced the original client in September 2015, making it the first game to use the engine.[87] Reborn
included a new user interface framework design, ability for custom game modes created by the community, and the
full replacement of the original Source engine with Source 2.[88] Largely attributed to technical difficulties players
experienced with the update, the global player base experienced a sharp drop of approximately sixteen percent the
month following the release of it.[89] However, after various updates and patches, over a million concurrent players
were playing again by the beginning of 2016, with that number being the largest in nearly a year.[90] The move to
Source 2 also allowed the use of the Vulkan graphics API, which was released as an optional feature in May 2016,
making Dota 2 one of the first games to offer it.[91]

Release
Dota 2 was first made available to the public at Gamescom in
2011, coinciding with the inaugural International
championship, the game's premier eSport tournament event.
At the event, Valve began sending out closed beta invitations,
with the first few being sent out shortly after Gamescom.[92]
During the event, Newell speculated that Dota 2 would likely
ship in 2012, despite original plans for a full release in late
2011.[93] In September 2011, Valve scrapped its previous
development and release plans, which would have kept the
game in its closed beta phase for over a year. IceFrog then
announced plans to begin beta testing. Simultaneously, Valve Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, where the game
announced that the non-disclosure agreement for the beta was first made available to the public
was being lifted, allowing testers to discuss the game and
their experiences publicly.[94]

After nearly two years of beta testing, Dota 2 was officially released on Steam for Microsoft Windows on July 9, 2013,
and later for OS X and Linux on July 18, 2013.[95][96][97] The game did not launch with every hero from Defense of the
Ancients. Instead, the missing ones were added in various post-release updates, with the final one, as well as the first
Dota 2 original hero, being added in 2016.[98][99] Two months following the game's release, Newell claimed that
updates to Dota 2 generated up to three percent of global internet traffic.[100] In December 2013, the final restrictions
against unlimited global access to Dota 2 were lifted after the game's infrastructure and servers were substantially
bolstered.[101] In order to abide by the standards set by the economic legislation of specific countries, Valve opted to
contract with nationally based developers for publishing. In October 2012, the leading Beijing-based video game
publisher, Perfect World, announced the acquisition of the exclusive rights of Dota 2 in China.[102] The Chinese
version also has a region-specific "Low Violence" mode, which censors and changes most depictions of blood, gore,
and skulls in order for the game to follow censorship policies of the country.[103][104] In November 2012, a similar

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publishing deal was made with the South Korea-based game company Nexon to distribute and market the game in the
country, as well as in Japan.[105] Three years later, Nexon announced they would no longer be operating servers for
Dota 2, with Valve taking over direct distribution and marketing of the game in those regions.[106]

In December 2016, Dota 2 was updated to gameplay version 7.00, known as "The New Journey" update.[107][108][109]
Prior to the update, the Dota series had been in version 6.xx for over a decade, marking the first major revision since
IceFrog originally took over development of the original mod in the mid 2000s.[109] The New Journey update added
and changed numerous features and mechanics of the game, including adding the first original hero not ported over
from Defense of the Ancients, a reworked map, a redesigned HUD, a pre-game phase that allows for players to discuss
their team strategy, and a "Talent Tree" hero augmentation system.[108][109] In April 2017, Valve announced changes to
the game's ranked matchmaking system, with the main one requiring the registration of a unique phone number to a
player's account in order to play them, an anti-griefing and smurfing practice they had previously implemented in
their first-person shooter game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[68][110] Further changes to the game's matchmaking
were brought in an update in November 2017, where the old numerical MMR system was replaced by a seasonal one
based on eight ranked "medals" that are recalibrated every six months, a move that brought the game's ranked system
closer to ones used in other competitive games such as Global Offensive, StarCraft, and League of
Legends.[111][112][113] In early 2018, IceFrog announced that he and Valve would begin on a different way to handle
gameplay balance updates for the game. Instead of releasing larger updates irregularly throughout the year, smaller
ones would be released on a set schedule of every two weeks.[114][115] Around the same time, the game also introduced
the "Dota Plus" paid montly subscription system, replacing the seasonal battle pass. Dota Plus includes everything that
battle passes did, such as milestone and hero-specific achievements that reward players with exclusive cosmetics, as
well as introducing the "Plus Assistant" feature, a tool that provides match data gathered from thousands of recent
games at each skill bracket for players, such as hero suggestions during a draft, and item and ability suggestions
during a match.[116]

Professional competition
To ensure that enough Defense of the Ancients players would
take up Dota 2 and to showcase the game's capabilities, Valve
sponsored sixteen accomplished Defense of the Ancients
teams to compete at The International, a Dota 2 specific
eSports tournament, for a one million dollar prize in
2011.[117] The International became an annual championship
tournament in 2012, with the venue changing to Seattle.[118]
In its third year, The International allowed crowdfunding to
add to its prize pool through an interactive, in-game app
called a "Compendium".[119] Compendiums, which are
Dota 2 tournaments often have prize pools worth optional, allow players who buy them to directly raise prize
millions of dollars, such as the $25 million The money for The International by spending money on unique
International 2018 tournament at the Rogers cosmetics and other in-game items offered through it, with
Arena in Vancouver 25% of all the revenue made going directly to the prize
pool.[120] Sales from the 2013 compendium helped raise over
$2.8 million, making The International 2013 reclaim its
previous title as having the largest prize pool in eSports history from the League of Legends Season 2 World
Championship.[121][122] Since then, each annual tournament of The International has broken the previous one's prize
pool record, with the fourth iteration of the tournament raising nearly US$11 million, exceeding the prizes pools of the
Super Bowl, Masters Tournament, and Tour de France.[123] At The International 2015, the prize pool exceeded $18.4
million, earning the champion team, Evil Geniuses, over $6 million.[124][125]

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Following the inaugural event of The International, several other eSport events began to transition from Defense of the
Ancients to Dota 2, including the Electronic Sports World Cup.[126] DreamHack would also support Dota 2 in 2011,
following a year without support for the original, on account of other MOBA titles such as Heroes of Newerth and
League of Legends.[127] By the end of its first year in its beta phase, Dota 2 was one of the highest-paying eSport titles
of 2011, second only to StarCraft II.[128] In 2012, Dota 2 began as an official title for the World Cyber Games annual
event at World Cyber Games 2012.[129] The Electronic Sports League (ESL) began a seasonal tournament for Dota 2
called the RaidCall EMS One in 2013, which was the largest independent tournament for Dota 2 by the beginning of
2013.[130] Beginning in September 2013, the Association for Chinese eSports began a league, called the WPC ACE Dota
2 League, which had the largest third-party prize pool in Dota 2 eSports history at the time.[131] At Electronic
Entertainment Expo 2013, Nexon announced the investment of two billion South Korean won, (approximately $1.7
million), into amateur and professional leagues in South Korea for 2013, to coincide with the launch of their
distribution agreement in the fall of that year.[132] Modeled after the interactive compendium for The International,
Valve introduced a compendium third-party tournament organizers could sell, beginning with DreamLeague in
February 2014.[133] In February 2015, the Valve-sponsored Dota 2 Asia Championships was held in Shanghai with a
prize pool of over $3 million, raised through compendium sales.[134][135] Other Dota 2 Asia Championships have also
taken place, with it being sometimes being referred to as the "Chinese International".[136][137]

In total, professional Dota 2 tournaments had earned teams and players over $100 million in prize money by June
2017, with over half of that being awarded at the International tournaments, making it the highest earning eSport
game by a margin of nearly $60 million.[138]

Dota Pro Circuit

Starting in 2015, Valve began sponsoring smaller, but seasonally held tournaments with a fixed three million prize
pool, known officially as the Dota Major Championships.[139][140] The format for the tournaments were based on the
series of the same name that Valve also sponsored for their first-person shooter game, Counter-Strike: Global
Offensive. The first of which, hosted and produced by ESL, was the Frankfurt Major held in November 2015 at the
Festhalle Frankfurt in Frankfurt, and was won by OG.[141][142] The next Major was hosted and produced by Perfect
World, and was held in March 2016 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, and was won by Team Secret.[143][144]
The third and final Major of the 2015–2016 season was hosted and produced by PGL, and was held at the Mall of Asia
Arena in Manila in June 2016.[145] The tournament was won by OG, becoming the first team to repeat as champions of
a Dota 2 Major.[146]

Following the introduction of the Majors, The International championships were then considered to be the cumulative
"Summer Major", with the 2016 iteration being the first one under the new format.[139][147] Still using the same
crowdfunding system for the prize pool as previous Internationals, the tournament broke the record for the highest
prize pool in eSports history at over $20 million, surpassing the record that the event had set the previous year, and
was won by Wings Gaming.[148][149] At a player's meeting at the same event, Valve announced that due to scheduling
issues they had prior to the International, they would be reducing the number of Majors from three to two for the
following season, with the next tournament taking place in Boston at the Wang Theatre in December 2016, which was
won again by OG.[150][151][152] The second and final Major of the season was held in Kiev at the National Palace of Arts
in April 2017, which was won again by OG, their fourth Major championship victory.[153][154]

Following The International 2017, Valve replaced the Major Championship system with the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), an
ranking system and event structure that relies on more frequently held tournament events produced by third-party
organizations.[155][156] In the DPC, any tournament that has at least one team from the North American, South
American, Southeast Asian, Chinese, European, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) regions, a minimum
prize pool of $500,000, which Valve adds $500,000 of their own towards, and concludes with a LAN finals is
classified as a Major.[155] In addition, a "Minor" championship tier exists and follows the same rules, but with a
minimum prize pool of $150,000 instead.[155] For the Circuit's first season, Valve awarded "Qualifying Points" for
individual players on a team that finishes in the top four of a tournament, which were publicly listed on a leaderboard
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and awarded direct invitations to The International for the eighth best ranking teams, a practice that was previously
done manually by Valve and criticized for being non-transparent and unpredictable.[157][158][156][159] Teams' scores
were determined by the total score of the top three point-earning players on them, with points being carried over if a
player changed teams during the season.[156] Qualifying points are weighed more heavily towards Majors than Minors,
with events that take place closer to The International generally awarding more.[158] To avoid conflicting dates, Valve
directly manages the scheduling of the entire circuit.[158]

Starting with the second season, there were a number of adjustments to the rules, with the primary one being that
both Major and Minor events are now held in pairs, with qualifiers for each set to run in exclusively scheduled
windows, as direct invites are now forbidden. In addition, Valve also removed the roster locks that previously
prevented teams that made changes mid-season from qualifying. Instead, all points will be directly assigned to teams
rather than individual players. Removing a player from the roster will take away 20 percent of the team's total points,
while adding a replacement player has no penalty.[160]

Media coverage
The primary medium for professional Dota 2 coverage is
through the video game live streaming platform, Twitch.tv.
For most major events, tournament coverage is done by a
selection of dedicated eSports organizations and personnel
who provide on-site commentary, analysis, match
predictions, and player interviews surrounding the event in
progress, similar to traditional sporting events.[161][162] Live
Dota 2 games and coverage have also been simulcast on
television networks around the world, such as ESPN in the Similar to traditional sporting events, desk
United States,[163][164] Sport1 in Germany,[165] TV 2 Zulu in commentators are employed on-site for most
Denmark,[166] Xinwen Lianbo in China,[167] Astro in major tournaments, providing analysis and
predictions regarding the players and teams
Malaysia,[168] and TV5 in the Philippines.[169]
involved.

Reception
Dota 2 received universal acclaim, according to Reception
review aggregator Metacritic.[170] In a preview of
the game in 2012, Rich McCormick of PC Gamer
thought that Dota 2 was "an unbelievably deep
and complex game that offers the purest sequel to
the original Defense of the Ancients. Rewarding
like few others, but tough".[179] Adam Biessener,
the editor who authored the announcement article
for Dota 2 for Game Informer in 2010, praised
Valve for maintaining the same mechanics and
game balance that made Defense of the Ancients
successful nearly a decade prior[16] and Quintin
Smith of Eurogamer described Dota 2 as the
"supreme form of the MOBA which everyone else
working in the genre is trying to capture like
lightning in a bottle".[173] The most frequently
praised aspects of the game were its depth,

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delivery, and overall balance. Chris Thursten of Aggregate score

PC Gamer described the gameplay as being "deep
and rewarding".[177] Aggregator Score

Metacritic 90/100[170]
Martin Gaston of GameSpot complimented Valve
for the artistic design and delivery of Dota 2, Review scores
citing the execution of the user interface design,
Publication Score
voice acting, and characterization as exceeding
those of the game's competitors.[174] Phill Destructoid 9.5/10[171]
Cameron of IGN and James Kozanitis of
Edge 9/10[172]
Hardcore Gamer both praised Dota 2 for its free-
to-play business model that was not affected by Eurogamer 9/10[173]
cosmetic items, with Kozanitis stating that Dota 2
Game Informer 9/10[16]
was "the only game to do free-to-play
right".[175][180] Nick Kolan of IGN also agreed, GameSpot 9/10[174]
comparing the game's business model to Valve's
IGN 9.4/10[175]
Team Fortress 2, which uses a nearly identical
system.[181] Post-release additions to the game PC Gamer (US) 92/100[177]
were also praised, such as the addition of virtual
Polygon 8.5/10[176]
reality (VR) support in 2016. Ben Kuchera of
Polygon thought that spectating games in VR was VideoGamer.com 9/10[178]
"amazing", comparing it to being able to watch an
American football game on television with the ability to jump onto the field at any time to see the quarterback's point
of view.[182] Chris Thursten of PC Gamer agreed, calling the experience "incredible" and unlike any other eSports
spectating system that existed prior to it.[183] Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica also praised the addition, believing
that the functionality could "attract serious attention from gamers and non-gamers alike".[184]

While the majority of reviewers gave Dota 2 highly positive reviews, a common criticism was that the game maintains
a steep learning curve that requires exceptional commitment to overcome. While providing a moderately positive
review that praised Valve's product stability, Fredrik Åslund from the Swedish division of Gamereactor described his
first match of Dota 2 as one of the most humiliating and inhospitable experiences of his gaming career, citing the
learning curve and players' attitudes as unwelcoming.[185] Benjamin Danneberg of GameStar alluded to the learning
curve as a "learning cliff", calling the newcomer's experience to be painful, with the tutorial feature new to the Dota
franchise only being partially successful.[186] In a review for the Metro newspaper, Dota 2 was criticized for not
compensating for the flaws with the learning curve from Defense of the Ancients, as well as the sometimes hostile
community, which is commonly criticized in multiplayer online battle arena games.[187] Peter Bright of Ars Technica
also directed criticism at the ability for third-party websites to allow skin gambling and betting on match results,
similar to controversies that also existed with Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[188] Using Dota 2 as an
example, Bright thought that Valve had built gambling elements directly into their games, and had issues with the
unregulated practice, which he stated was often used by underage players and regions where gambling is illegal.[188]
Australian senator Nick Xenophon had similar sentiment, stating that he wanted to introduce legislation in his
country to minimize underage access to gambling within video games, including Dota 2.[189] In response to the
controversy, Valve and Dota 2 project manager, Erik Johnson, stated that they would be taking action against the
third-party sites, saying that the practice was not allowed by their API or their user agreements.[190]

Comparisons of Dota 2 to other MOBA games are commonplace, with the game's mechanics and business model often
being directly compared with League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm.[181][191][192][193] Contrasting it with League
of Legends, T.J. Hafer of PC Gamer called Dota 2 the "superior experience", stating that he thought the game was "all
about counterplay", with most of the heroes being designed to directly counter another.[194] Hafer also preferred the
way the game handled its hero selection pool, with all of them being unlocked right from the start, unlike in League of

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