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In 2002, Blizzard Entertainment unleashed Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos on the world, the second sequel to Warcraft: Humans & Orcs.
Few thought it would have the influence it did, as in many hardcore gamers’ eyes, it revolutionised multiplayer gaming with its vast player base. Even fewer gamers believed that its 2003 mod, Defense of the Ancients, would grow into the global phenomenon that is has, becoming the MOBA genre’s most significant inspiration.
In 2013, Valve published its long-awaited sequel, DOTA 2, after two years of beta testing. The game hit digital and brick-and-mortar shelves in July of 2013 and proved to be a smash hit.
Over the years, DOTA 2 has become one of the most popular esports games ever, with multiple tournaments whose prize pools total millions of dollars. Shanghai’s 2019 International alone had an overall win purse of $34 million. According to some estimates, it is the highest-earning esports game of all-time, and DOTA 2 in-play betting is a top betting option at digital sportsbooks.
However, even with these numbers, a debate rages on the internet whether DOTA 2 is dying or not. Pro gamer David Tan claims that a massive wealth disparity exists between those who consistently play at brand tournaments and everyone else. Such an imbalance is hurting the community’s economy, because when gamers cannot make a living playing a specific title, they may leave the scene, and leagues without quality lower-level teams cannot always survive if competition grows stale.
Player Numbers Are Going Down Year-On-Year
Going by figures published by the Valve Corporation, the creator of Steam and developer of DOTA 2, the game reached its popularity peak in March 2016. At that time, almost 1.3 million people were playing this MOBA game at the same time (concurrent players).
From then on, the player numbers steadily dropped for the next two years, before rebounding in March 2019, again moving past the one million mark. Nowadays, the overall player number hovers around the 700,000 mark, an improvement from January 2020, when it hit a five-year low, almost hitting 600,000. Some blame its high entry level for new players for this downward spiral. It can be a hard title to get into, requiring a long learning curve.
Monthly active users for DOTA 2 aren’t available – Win.gg estimates that the monthly active users were around 9 to 10m in 2020. Comparatively, rival MOBA League of Legends reportedly has 115m monthly players.
DOTA 2 Has Higher Audience Engagement Than CS:GO & LoL
Player numbers aside, according to an Esports Charts report, DOTA 2 ended 2020 on a high note, as it claimed the number one ranking in Twitch audience engagement. It defeated its two main rivals CS:GO and League of Legends, to earn this honour. The report states that DOTA 2 had the largest audience and was also the leader in audience interaction, dominating the 2020 Q3 chart with an impressive engagement of 36.55%.
However, despite interest in DOTA 2 streams on Twitch being super-high, in terms of total hours watched and unique viewers, it lagged behind other esports titles. Competitions such as the EPIC League, OMEGA League and ESL One Germany generated the most interest in grabbing eyeballs in the second half of 2020.
Will The Netflix Series Help It Maintain Its Popularity?
On March 25th, Netflix debuted Dota: Dragon’s Blood, an animated series based on the video game franchise. The project is a co-production between Valve and Netflix Animations, aiming to capitalize on the game’s popularity in the 15-25 demographic. The first season of Dragon’s Blood will feature eight 25 minute episodes animated by South Korean studio Mir.
The series has been in production for two years, and it incorporates a style similar to the classic 1997 anime Berserk. The first reviews for it were not stellar. Most critics called the show underwhelming. Though, they praised its pace and action sequences.
However, gaming mavens doubt that it will bring any new fans to the video game franchise or come close to the success of Netflix’s Castlevania. Since the streaming service does not release viewership numbers, the only sign pointing to Dragon’s Blood attaining a decent audience will be news for a season renewal.
What Does the Future Hold for This Legendary MOBA?
There is no denying that Valve’s product is not at the heights reached during the first three years of its existence, though the events of 2020 seem to have given its player base a decent push as interest in the game increased over the last year. However, even with new heroes and updates, some predict DOTA 2 numbers will likely steadily decline as time goes by.
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