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AI isn't good enough to beat the best 'Dota 2' players just yet
AI may have beaten the world's best Go player, but Dota 2 pros have shown that in their game, humans are still top of the food chain -- for now, at least. Last week, Dota 2 players from around the world clashed at the biggest tournament of the year, The International, with team OG taking the title and over $11 million in prize money. Arguably more important, though, was the contest of man versus machine(-learning) in a best-of-three exhibition series.
The newest 'Dota 2' shoutcaster is Valve boss Gabe Newell
Gabe Newell is a lot of things to a lot of people: PC gaming's greatest gift; the man who knows how Half-life 3 ends; reclusive sous-vide aficionado. And now he's an in-game announcer in Dota 2. If you pick up the new Mega-Kills Announcer Pack as part of this year's Battle Pass for The International tournament, you'll hear Newell's dulcet tones every kill.
‘Dota 2’ veterans steamrolled by AI team in exhibition match
Later this month, the best Dota 2 teams in the world will meet in Vancouver for the biggest tournament of the year, The International. The annual contest consistently boasts the highest prize pool in eSports (it's up to $23.5 million already this year), not to mention the glory that comes with winning the prestigious event. It may not be long, however, before a team of non-human players becomes worthy of such success. This weekend, the all-bot roster of OpenAI Five took on a team of Dota 2 casters and ex-pro players that individually rank amongst some of the best in the world. OpenAI Five won the best-of-three exhibition match convincingly, and the only reason the human team took a game was thanks to a little help from the audience.
'Dota 2' team kicked from $15 million finals for using mouse cheat
There have been several eSports cheating scandals before, including a match-fixing arrest, an 'Overwatch' hackers being fined almost $10 thousand and a PUBG hacker arrested for selling game cheats. The stakes continue to remain high, as with a Dota 2 player who just disqualified his team from a $15 million tournament by using a programmable mouse.
OpenAI's 'Dota 2' bots are taking on pro teams
The Dota 2 world championship, The International, is fast approaching, and a top team will have a different-looking squad to contend with: a group of artificial intelligence bots. OpenAI, which Elon Musk co-founded, has been taking on top Dota 2 players with the bots since last year, and now it's gunning for a team of top professionals in an exhibition match at one of the biggest events in eSports.
AI beats top 'Dota 2' players in one-on-one matches
Artificial intelligence isn't just good at playing Go -- it can also emerge victorious in the eSports arena. The Elon Musk-backed OpenAI team has developed a machine learning system that has beaten "many" of the best pro Dota 2 players in one-on-one matches, including star player Dendi during a live demonstration at The International. The trick wasn't to teach the AI how to play the game -- instead, it was to have the bot play many games against itself, and encourage ideal behavior as it learned the ropes over time.
'Dota 2' will add two new heroes in the Dueling Fates update
Some of the world's best Dota 2 players are doing battle at Valve's The International esports tournament, but they may need some more practice when they get home. That's because the company just announced it will add two more characters soon in its "The Dueling Fates" update. Neither hero has a name yet, but in the preview trailer the first attacked enemies both by rolling over them Sonic the Hedgehog-style and with a sword, while the other one flew in on fairy wings before releasing a minion to attack.
Valve reveals 'Artifact,' the official 'Dota' card game
Tonight, during Valve's "The International" Dota 2 esports tournament the company announced it's making a spinoff card game associated with its popular MOBA. Other than its name, Artifact, a brief teaser trailer and a release window of 2018, we didn't get any details, but Dota fans have been dreaming up Hearthstone-like card game iterations for years, so it should be well-received by the community when it drops. Former Double Fine developer Brad Muir (Iron Brigade, Massive Chalice) revealed he's been working on the project "for a while now" but that's all we know.
TBS to air four-part docuseries on 'Dota 2' tournament competitors
Turner Broadcasting announced today that TBS will air a four part documentary about players preparing for and competing in this year's The International Dota 2 Championships. The series is produced by Turner's eSports branch ELEAGUE, which started airing competitions on TBS last year.
Flagship 'Dota 2' tournament sets cash prize record
Dota 2's flagship tournament, The International 2016, is now the most lucrative eSports competition in history with a record-breaking $18.6 million prize pot. The total purse of last year's tournament was under $18.5 million, and under $11 million in 2014. The prize pool will continue to grow for another two weeks as it's funded by fans buying Battle Passes, Dota 2's new in-game digital program that will last until August 13th.
$18 million up for grabs in this week's 'Dota 2' championships
The International is back and bigger than ever. The 2015 championships for Dota 2, Valve's massively popular MOBA, take off today in the "main event" stage, beginning with three matches between LGD Gaming and Team Empire. In total, 16 teams have a shot at winning The International when it comes to a close on Saturday, August 8th. There's a total of $18 million up for grabs, with payouts ranging from $54,000 for 16th place and $6.5 million for first -- and these figures should rise before the end of the tournament, since it's funded via ongoing purchases of the Compendium, a package that offers players in-game goodies at $10 or $27 a pop. Twenty-five percent of all Compendium sales go straight to The International's prize pool. Watch The International's official, live coverage below.
ESPN will broadcast a $10 million gaming tournament this weekend
If someone gaining an athletic visa to play StarCraft 2 or the staggering amount of hours spent watching pro gamers duke it out virtually wasn't enough to prove that competitive gaming is a real thing, maybe some mainstream support is. This weekend's massive $10 million-plus Dota 2 tournament, The International, will air live on ESPN 3. What's more, prior to ESPN 2's broadcast of the final match late Sunday evening, the network will host a preview show with expert analysis and even an interview with Dota 2-developer Valve's Gabe Newell. That the Worldwide Leader in Sports is giving the same kind of love to eSports that it does, say, basketball or even skateboarding is surely a sign of big things to come. The fans have been into it for awhile -- tickets for the event, held at Seattle's 17,000-seat Key Arena, sold out in an hour.
