'Dota 2' is the first title running on Valve's new game engine

If you want a look at just how much PC gaming powerhouse Valve (and gaming as a whole) has changed consider this: When the company launched the original Source Engine back in 2004 it did so with a beta for a new version of Counter-Strike (Counter-Strike: Source) and then went wide a few months later with Half-life 2. The first game running on Valve's follow-up engine, Source 2? Dota 2. Specifically, Dota 2 Reborn. As Eurogamer points out, the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) has been running in Source 2 in beta since June, but now the game's sporting a new UI and more game modes on Source 2, including support for 20-person matches.

Valve is responding to its player-base here. In 2004, Counter Strike was the competitive game to play. But while Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is still really big on the scene, MOBAs are where the action's at for eSports. Does that analog mean we'll see Half-life 3 coming soon? That's almost positively not going to happen, but don't be too surprised if you see Gabe Newell and Co.'s other multiplayer cash-factory Team Fortress 2 get the bump to Valve's new game toolset next.

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]