Dota 2
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Dota 2's biggest tournament will return to Seattle this year
For the first time since 2017, The International, Dota 2's most prestigious tournament, will take place in Valve's hometown.
Igor Bonifacic05.07.2023
Amazon’s ‘New World’ is among the year’s biggest money makers on Steam
Battlefield 2042,' 'Valheim' and 'Destiny 2' are some of 2021's other high earners.
Kris Holt12.27.2021
‘Dota 2’ update should make things much easier for newcomers
An overhauled new player experience arrives the same day as Netflix’s 'Dota' anime.
Kris Holt03.25.2021
'Dota: Dragon's Blood' trailer gives a clearer view of Netflix's new anime series
A full trailer has arrived for Netflix's anime series based on 'Dota 2.'
Richard Lawler03.01.2021
Valve's 'Dota: Dragon's Blood' teaser unsurprisingly includes dragons
Valve has shared the first teaser for its upcoming Dota 2 animated series on Netflix.
Igor Bonifacic02.19.2021
Netflix is launching a 'Dota 2' anime series in March
Netflix is gearing up for the global launch of a new anime series based on Valve's multiplayer online battle arena game Dota 2.
Mariella Moon02.17.2021
Valve patched Steam bugs that could have allowed hackers to take over PCs
Check Point Research found four vulnerabilities within the company’s Steam Sockets network library.
Igor Bonifacic12.10.2020
'Dota 2' will get year-round updates and crack down on 'smurfs'
Valve is shaking up 'Dota 2' by promising a steady stream of updates and efforts to fight 'smurfs' who create accounts to hike their win rates.
Jon Fingas10.16.2020
Dota 2's biggest esports tournament will likely be pushed back until 2021
Valve has announced that the 2020 edition of its massive The International Dota 2 tournament will likely be delayed until 2021. The tournament was set to take place this August in Stockholm, with last year’s Shanghai tournament boasting the richest prize pool in esports of more than $30 million.
Steve Dent05.01.2020
Social distancing is pushing esports into the mainstream
Industries around the globe have ground to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic. Bars, restaurants, stadiums and factories have shuttered, and entire countries are on lockdown as citizens are ordered to stay home for weeks at a time in an attempt to control the disease's spread. With the streets empty, people are turning to their screens more than ever before. Viewership of streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, Mixer and Hulu has risen weekly since shelter-in-place orders began rolling out, and people are on the hunt for new forms of entertainment, ideally with a social twist. Something with a chat room, or dozens of forum posts to read through, or an active Twitter and Instagram presence. Something with stats and high stakes. Something live. Enter: Esports. As economic activity spirals downward around the world, the esports industry has been spun into overdrive. Leagues are ditching plans for in-person tournaments and pivoting to online-only matches, where they're finding a hungry audience.
Jessica Conditt04.01.2020
Valve wants cities to bid on hosting The International
Cities that have lost out on bids to host the Olympics or other big events may have another opportunity to shine. Valve Software is soliciting bids from "host cities" to put on The International -- the annual Dota 2 championship and one of the top esports tournaments. Today, Valve issued a request for proposal (RFP) document, shared by Polygon, that asks cities to throw their hats in the ring as potential hosts for next year's tournament.
Christine Fisher02.27.2020
'Dota Underlords' leaves early access with battle pass in tow
Dota Underlords, Valve's Defense of the Ancients-themed 'auto-chess' spinoff, has left early. You can now take part in the game's first season.
Igor Bonifacic02.25.2020
Dota 2’s massive update delivers two new heroes and more
Valve has unveiled the Dota 2 Outlanders update and it was worth the wait, as it's a massive overhaul that will substantially transform game play. The biggest change may be the addition of two new heroes, the melee carry "Void Spirit" and ranged support "Snapfire." The latter is a particularly powerful character with multiple abilities and ways to stun foes and inflict damage. Both are a bound to shake up games (and possibly get banned) as everyone tries to figure out what they can do.
Steve Dent11.27.2019
'Death Stranding' and 'Control' lead Game Awards nominees
The Game Awards takes place in less than a month and voting is now open after Geoff Keighley announced the nominees. Hideo Kojima's sprawling epic Death Stranding leads the pack with nine nominations, including game of the year, game direction, score/music, narrative and performance for both Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen.
Kris Holt11.19.2019
'Dota 2' will match players sooner if they're open to different roles
Play class-based games and you'll know that it's tough to convince people to play certain roles -- there are only so many people who'd rather be the support character than the front line hero. Valve's solution for Dota 2? Give players an incentive to fill those roles. Its latest update to the game adds a Fast Queue option that bumps Ranked players to the front of the line when they're willing to play with all roles selected.
Jon Fingas11.02.2019
'Dota 2' champions won more money than top Wimbledon players
It's not just Fortnite champs who are making conventional sports players seem underpaid. OG has won Valve's The International Dota 2 tournament for the second year in a row (the first time any team has won back-to-back), pulling in a record-setting $15,603,133 out of an even larger $34,292,599 prize pool. That's not just the largest top prize in esports history -- it could also be a windfall for each of the five team members.
Jon Fingas08.25.2019
'Dota Underlords' has more people playing now than 'Artifact' ever did
Just a day after going live, the Dota Underlords beta is off to a great start. According to stats from SteamDB, as of Friday night it had over 84,000 players at once -- higher than Valve's troubled Dota 2 spinoff Artifact ever had. It topped out at around 60,000, while Underlords has already had over 179,000 simultaneous participants -- a number that the tracking site believes includes players on mobile devices.
Richard Lawler06.21.2019
Valve's 'Dota Underlords' open beta launches on Android, iOS and PC
Less than a month after it was announced and just a week after being properly revealed, Dota Underlords is available for play. Valve's take on the popular Dota 2 mod, Dota Auto Chess, is a turn-based strategic battle game where players try to dominate the city of White Spire. The last Dota 2 spinoff, Artifact, did not experience the warmest reception and is undergoing major changes, but Underlords is already topping that game's peak number of players, and seemingly with good reason. It's been stress testing with Dota 2 Battle Pass owners for the last week and now anyone can try it for free. The plan is for it to remain in early access for "a few months" before it launches fully with more Underlord characters, ranked play and seasonal changes. It's available now on Steam, Google Play and the iOS App Store, complete with cross-play so you can start a game on one platform and finish it on another.
Richard Lawler06.20.2019
Valve's latest 'Dota' spinoff is 'Underlords,' free beta starts next week
Now that Dota Auto Chess mod maker Drodo has announced plans to release PC Auto Chess as an Epic Games Store exclusive, Valve is releasing its standalone version, dubbed Dota Underlords. In this game, players join the game with seven others while "building, combining, and leveling-up a crew in a battle of dominance for the city of White Spire." The point here is supposed to be the use of tactics over quick-twitch reflexes, and players who've purchased a $10 Dota 2 Battle Pass can try it out right now. An open beta is slated to begin after "approximately a week" of stress testing of the preview which includes eight-player multiplayer, play vs. bots, or teams against other players and/or bots. The open beta will be available for Steam on all platforms plus Android and iOS, with cross-play and progression carrying over no matter where you play. It looks like Valve has learned a bit from the launch of its last Dota spinoff, Artifact, and now it will be up to players to decide if it's more successful.
Richard Lawler06.13.2019
Valve is making its own version of 'Dota Auto Chess'
Dota 2's hugely popular custom game mode Dota Auto Chess is set to get not one but two standalone spin-offs. Dota 2's publisher Valve made the announcement on its blog this week, noting that its developers loved the mod so much the company invited creators Drodo Studio for a visit to discuss how they could work together.
Rachel England05.22.2019