What is Dota 2?

If you’ve spent any time dabbling in esports, you’ve definitely heard of Dota 2. It’s notoriously known as one of the most complex esports titles and was one of the first to define the entire MOBA genre. Despite being over a decade old, Dota 2 still draws in millions of monthly players, and the professional scene is still going strong. 

But what is Dota 2 exactly? Where did it come from, and why is it still one of the largest esports games today? In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about what this legendary game is all about.

What is Dota 2?

Dota 2 is a free-to-play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) developed and published by Valve Corporation. 

To put it simply, Dota 2 is a 5v5 game where two teams – Radiant and Dire – face off against each other. These two teams are dropped into a map with a race to destroy the enemy Ancient – a building deep inside their respective bases. 

Before the game starts, each player selects a hero from a lineup of 126. Heroes are characters with unique abilities – no two heroes are the same. Then, they farm gold and experience to get stronger and slay the enemy team. 

Each member of your team has a defined role in Dota, and players must perfect tiny details like creep aggro, power spikes, positioning, and much more. That depth and attention to detail is why the game has such a dedicated fanbase – these people enjoy learning and improving every day. 

Who Created Dota?

Dota has a long history, today the game is known as Dota 2 but at one point in time, there was a Dota 1. Back then, there was DotA, a custom map created inside Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne. 

Early History

The DotA mod concept was created by a fella known as Eul. However, Eul stepped away from the project, but DotA was still expanded by other modders. 

After some development, the modders eventually created DotA Allstars. This project was first led by Guinsoo (he later helped create League of Legends), and then taken over by IceFrog. Under IceFrog’s leadership, DotA took off. He refined hero designs, game balance, and competitive integrity. IceFrog’s work was so good that he was eventually hired by Valve. 

Valve Steps In

Now that IceFrog had the assistance of Valve, the two parties got to work. Instead of improving the current DotA Allstars, they had bigger dreams – Dota 2. They pooled all of their effort into Dota 2, adding new technology, better visuals, and a modern matchmaking system so players could go against others of similar skill. 

So, DotA essentially started as a fan-made mod and was turned into one of the most popular esports games today. Though Valve’s help should not be underestimated, it was mainly IceFrog who made most of it possible. This is why IceFrog has become a legend in the game. 

When was Dota 2 Released?

In 2011, Dota 2 entered closed beta. The Valve team sent out invitations to thousands of players to try testing the game. After nearly two years, they officially released the game, with Dota 2 hitting the Steam store on July 9, 2013. 

After the launch in 2013, IceFrog and Valve went on to do even greater things. They moved Dota 2 to the company’s new Source 2 engine, which resulted in better performance and visuals. That year was when Dota 2 really took off. 

What Does “Dota” Stand For?

“Dota” stands for Defense of the Ancients, which was the name of the original Warcraft III custom map. The term quite literally refers to the core objective of every Dota match: defend your own Ancient while trying to destroy your opponent’s. 

Even though the game has evolved from a mod to what it is today, the fundamental concept remains the same. 

How to Play Dota 2 – A Simple Breakdown

So what is Dota 2 as a game? It’s is widely considered one of the hardest games to learn, but the basic flow of the game is actually pretty straightforward. Here’s a five-step outline of how a game of Dota 2 is typically played:

Step 1: Pick a Hero

Before the game starts, every player gets to pick a hero from a pool of 126 options. Each player is tasked to fill different roles:

• Carry – requires gold to scale into the late game
• Midlaner – strong throughout all portions of the game, important for tempo setting
• Offlaner – durable hero that buys utility items to protect the team
• Soft Support – rotates around the map, helping cores by providing disables
• Hard Support – babysits the carry, handles vision, and keeps the team alive

Step 2: Farm Gold and Experience

Dota 2 is a game of resources, as heroes farm gold to buy items and experience to level up their abilities. So, heroes can farm such resources by:

• Killing lane creeps
• Farming jungle camps
• Killing enemy heroes
• Taking Dota objectives

Step 3: Fight With Your Team

The beauty of Dota 2 comes from teamfighting – it’s the heart of the game. Players farm all their gold and experience for these moments.

Teams will group up together and take full-on engagements against enemy teams for objectives or gold. You can execute ganks to pick off singular enemy heroes, or go for a straight-on five-on-five fight for all the marbles. 

Step 4: Take Map Objectives

The Ancient is protected by structures such as towers and barracks. After winning fights, teams will push and destroy these objectives, getting one step closer to the Ancient after every one they take. 

Aside from buildings, objectives also consider Roshan, who drops the iconic Aegis of the Immortal, as well as others, like taking more map control to choke enemies out of the map. 

Step 5: Destroy the Ancient

Once you become stronger than the enemy team and break into their base, all that’s required is a final push to destroy the ultimate objective. When the Ancient falls, the game ends. 

That’s pretty much the loop of the game: Pick your hero —> Farm to get stronger —> Fight enemy heroes —> Push towers —> Win the game.

Why is Dota 2 So Popular?

Even after two decades, the Dota franchise remains massively popular, raking in over 600,000 players every day, but what made this feat possible?

Truly Free-to-Play

One of the best parts about Dota 2 is that every hero is free from day one. You don’t have to pay real money to unlock heroes, nor do you need to grind out in-game currency to buy them. And of course, there’s no option to spend money on “boosting your hero’s strength” – no such thing exists here in Dota 2. 

Unmatched Depth

What really makes Dota 2 special is how complex the game is. In any esports title, you’ll have to display mechanical skill, game knowledge, and decision-making – these are a given. However, Dota 2 has so many minute details and mechanics that all add up. You have high-ground and low-ground vision, various forms of disables, and thousands of hero-specific interactions that will take years for even the best players to master. 

Massive Esports Legacy

Dota 2 isn’t just about playing the game – you can watch people play it, too – and it’s extremely entertaining. This game is home to The International, the world’s most prestigious esports tournaments. Aside from TI, you get to see million-dollar tournaments almost every month and really see how talented and hardworking the professionals are. 

What is Dota 2 Esports?

If Dota 2 is the game, The International (TI) is its Super Bowl – scaled up, multiplied by ten, and injected with adrenaline. TI is Valve’s annual world championship, and has become the largest tournament series in all of esports.

How TI Started

The tournament started with the very first International in 2011. The International 1 was held at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, with Valve putting $1.6 million on the line – a figure unheard of back then. 

Many top players at the time didn’t even sign up for the tournament, thinking it was a scam. However, the tournament was real – NaVi won the inaugural title, and TI became a must-watch esports event. 

Record-Breaking Prize Pools

What really propelled TI to the top of gaming was when Valve introduced the Compendium (later known as the Battle Pass). This system allowed the community to crowdfund part of the tournament’s prize pools.

The project was a huge success and led the prize pools to reach unprecedented numbers:

• TI5: $18 million
• TI8: $25 million
• TI10: $40 million

Yes, you read that right. To this day, TI10 still holds the record of being the largest tournament in esports history, with the winners, Team Spirit, taking home $18 million alone!

A Global Celebration

The Dota 2 playerbase has generally grown up, gotten jobs, and many even have families now. A lot of veteran players no longer have time to play the game, but one thing’s for sure – they’ll always tune into The International. 

TI has become a celebration for Dota 2 fans, bringing everyone back together every year – even if it’s only for a week or two. Many community members report that they would take their annual leave just to watch TI undisturbed. 

TI magic always brings out Dota’s unique culture, from memes, unforgettable plays, underdog storylines, and much more. 

What is Dota 2 like in 2026?

Today, Dota 2 remains one of the most active and popular esports titles in the world, bringing in millions of monthly players. The Valve team is still releasing frequent updates, from major patches, events, to new cosmetics. They’re also doing their best to release a new hero every year. 

The game also has a dedicated community – massive subreddits, thousands of streamers, and even hundreds of popular custom games and arcade maps.Aside from TI, the Dota 2 professional scene is still very much alive. The competitive circuit is built around third-party tournaments from organizers like ESL, BLAST, and PGL, all hosting tournaments with million-dollar prize pools. 

Though we’ve had numerous claims over the years that the game is “dying,” Dota 2 still continues to thrive heading into 2026.