The Game Census
Dota 2 cover art

Dota 2

Valve · 2013-07-09

Steam

ActionStrategyFree To Play

Franchise: Dota · Modes: Multiplayer, Co-operative · Perspectives: Third person, Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Jul 09, 2013 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Jul 09, 2013 (Mac), Jul 09, 2013 (Linux)

Every day, millions of players worldwide enter battle as one of over a hundred Dota heroes. And no matter if it's their 10th hour of play or 1,000th, there's always something new to discover. With regular updates that ensure a constant evolution of gameplay, features, and heroes, Dota 2 has taken on a life of its own.

Dota 2 is a free-to-play Action, Strategy and Free To Play game released in 2013, with a Very Positive review sentiment (81% of 2,755,632 reviews).

406,173
playing now
80%
positive of 2.8M reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
33,281
twitch viewers (latest)
118.9
viewers/channel (concentration)
91/100
critic score (4 outlets, IGDB)
79/100
IGDB user rating (768 ratings)
3
Nexus mods (79 downloads)
91/100
opencritic · mighty · 100% recommend · from 17 critics
1507h
to beat · rushed 357h · completionist 5827h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
Free
steam price (US)

406,173 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 23:00 UTC (census sample)

Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players independently controls a character known as a hero that has unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a match, players collect experience points (XP) and items for their heroes to defeat the opposing team's heroes in player versus player (PvP) combat. A team wins by being the first to destroy the other team's Ancient, a large durable structure located in the center of each base.

Trailer

Dota 2 trailer thumbnail

Dota 2 Gamescom Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Thriving
  • · 406,173 players in-game right now — a Steam top-100 title.
  • · 160,731 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~20,091/week).
  • · Review velocity down 17% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 1% of 27,712 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-09-17

Tier history: healthy→thriving (Sep 17), thriving→healthy (Sep 16), healthy→thriving (Sep 16), thriving→healthy (Sep 16)

All-time low: $7.49 at Steam (2012-12-31)via IsThereAnyDeal

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
60k60k20182026Week of 2018-03-01: 7,770 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 2,860 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 5,650 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 1,559 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 7,678 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 1,712 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 8,427 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 1,935 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 7,277 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 1,658 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 6,946 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 1,695 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 6,189 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 1,209 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 5,535 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 1,250 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 26,400 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 10,326 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 6,973 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 1,938 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 6,015 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 1,644 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 6,187 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2,043 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 5,363 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 1,882 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 4,097 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1,514 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 5,844 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 1,998 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 15,397 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 2,971 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 18,286 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 3,102 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 4,583 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 1,370 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 4,961 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 1,165 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 14,430 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 2,511 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 60,341 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 12,328 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 27,986 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 6,780 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 19,255 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 5,368 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 16,761 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 4,362 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 20,462 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 4,932 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 20,056 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 5,189 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 19,817 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 5,546 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 20,204 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 5,313 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 18,015 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 4,861 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 13,180 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 3,304 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 10,926 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 3,028 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 12,070 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 3,224 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 21,924 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 4,473 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 16,360 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 4,409 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 14,445 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4,240 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 12,002 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3,412 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 12,988 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 3,921 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 13,413 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 3,810 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 12,680 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 3,645 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 13,610 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 4,074 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 14,375 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 4,331 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 14,986 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 4,581 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 15,097 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 4,224 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 18,089 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 6,359 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 26,490 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 6,382 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 18,015 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 5,117 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 18,159 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 5,743 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 17,148 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 5,982 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 17,371 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 5,463 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 15,312 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5,221 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 16,457 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 5,538 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 16,417 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 7,021 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 13,766 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 5,098 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 15,890 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 5,442 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 17,835 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 5,996 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 20,227 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 6,458 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 32,314 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 7,745 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 16,555 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 5,218 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 16,353 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 5,447 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 12,569 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 4,696 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 16,165 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 6,086 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 15,226 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 6,450 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 12,936 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 4,701 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 12,450 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 4,236 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 14,100 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 4,878 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 17,707 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 6,160 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 17,873 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 7,382 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 19,134 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 5,959 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 33,906 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 7,637 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 16,812 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 5,859 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 16,989 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 5,900 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 16,723 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 6,066 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 25,395 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 5,739 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 16,749 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 5,630 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 17,687 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 7,308 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 16,647 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 6,010 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 17,973 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 5,644 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 21,075 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 6,543 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 16,896 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 5,390 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 17,873 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 5,030 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 30,618 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 7,273 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 22,331 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 5,994 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 16,758 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 5,781 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 20,548 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 5,436 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 19,156 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 5,521 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 11,608 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 3,970 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 22,177 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 4,874 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 13,267 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 4,861 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 16,591 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 4,769 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 13,650 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 5,563 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 19,036 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 5,886 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 15,654 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 6,155 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 38,295 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 7,796 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 15,917 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 6,347 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 13,163 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 5,635 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 11,987 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 5,197 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 13,720 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 7,302 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 11,873 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 5,736 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 11,777 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 5,570 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 12,487 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 6,098 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 14,531 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 6,818 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 16,512 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 7,850 negativeWeek of 2026-09-01: 16,163 positiveWeek of 2026-09-01: 7,110 negativeWeek of 2026-10-01: 6,170 positiveWeek of 2026-10-01: 2,566 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1.0M346k2026-09-15 00:00 — 367,226 players2026-09-16 04:00 — 353,971 players2026-09-17 14:00 — 778,608 players2026-09-18 14:00 — 812,581 players2026-09-19 14:00 — 845,375 players2026-09-20 14:00 — 889,964 players2026-09-21 14:00 — 766,203 players2026-09-22 14:00 — 798,185 players2026-09-23 14:00 — 767,843 players2026-09-24 14:00 — 776,233 players2026-09-25 14:00 — 782,616 players2026-09-26 14:00 — 852,367 players2026-09-27 14:00 — 892,971 players2026-09-28 14:00 — 784,291 players2026-09-29 14:00 — 762,470 players2026-09-30 14:00 — 761,341 players2026-10-01 14:00 — 772,438 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 748,536 players2026-10-03 14:00 — 821,302 players2026-10-04 14:00 — 879,115 players2026-10-05 14:00 — 785,677 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 795,011 players2026-10-07 14:00 — 842,383 players2026-10-08 14:00 — 844,575 players2026-10-09 14:00 — 876,539 players2026-10-10 14:00 — 986,685 players2026-10-11 14:00 — 1,025,305 players2026-10-12 14:00 — 907,171 players2026-10-13 14:00 — 881,824 players2026-10-14 14:00 — 836,313 players2026-10-14 23:00 — 406,173 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
709k53kJul 2012Aug 2026Jul 2012 — avg 52,721 · peak 75,041Dec 2012 — avg 121,924 · peak 213,521May 2013 — avg 194,364 · peak 325,815Oct 2013 — avg 329,678 · peak 581,615Mar 2014 — avg 409,756 · peak 698,197Aug 2014 — avg 490,884 · peak 774,319Jan 2015 — avg 558,504 · peak 961,737Jun 2015 — avg 568,448 · peak 913,997Nov 2015 — avg 539,536 · peak 943,635Apr 2016 — avg 656,944 · peak 1,164,041Sep 2016 — avg 622,584 · peak 1,064,377Feb 2017 — avg 591,567 · peak 1,040,877Jul 2017 — avg 498,444 · peak 824,297Dec 2017 — avg 513,074 · peak 864,939May 2018 — avg 474,326 · peak 844,713Oct 2018 — avg 431,174 · peak 739,643Mar 2019 — avg 586,506 · peak 1,033,925Aug 2019 — avg 467,148 · peak 826,690Jan 2020 — avg 378,925 · peak 616,415Jun 2020 — avg 457,184 · peak 733,294Nov 2020 — avg 425,905 · peak 711,824Apr 2021 — avg 413,785 · peak 705,534Sep 2021 — avg 391,082 · peak 666,838Feb 2022 — avg 450,200 · peak 725,851Jul 2022 — avg 444,595 · peak 684,842Dec 2022 — avg 468,545 · peak 827,395May 2023 — avg 433,221 · peak 711,816Oct 2023 — avg 435,621 · peak 780,443Mar 2024 — avg 428,919 · peak 729,865Aug 2024 — avg 449,798 · peak 734,381Jan 2025 — avg 446,491 · peak 719,825Jun 2025 — avg 411,123 · peak 650,259Nov 2025 — avg 583,744 · peak 903,303Apr 2026 — avg 425,919 · peak 695,006Aug 2026 — avg 617,078 · peak 981,123
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

#2#22026-09-152026-10-142026-09-15 — #22026-09-16 — #22026-09-17 — #22026-09-18 — #22026-09-19 — #22026-09-20 — #22026-09-21 — #22026-09-22 — #22026-09-23 — #22026-09-24 — #22026-09-25 — #22026-09-26 — #22026-09-27 — #22026-09-28 — #22026-09-29 — #22026-09-30 — #22026-10-01 — #22026-10-02 — #22026-10-03 — #22026-10-04 — #22026-10-05 — #22026-10-06 — #22026-10-07 — #22026-10-08 — #22026-10-09 — #22026-10-10 — #22026-10-11 — #22026-10-12 — #22026-10-13 — #22026-10-14 — #2
Best Steam most-played rank per day (census top-100 snapshots).
PositiveNegative
8508502026-09-152026-10-142026-09-15: 407 new positive2026-09-15: 139 new negative2026-09-16: 419 new positive2026-09-16: 238 new negative2026-09-17: 342 new positive2026-09-17: 169 new negative2026-09-18: 384 new positive2026-09-18: 165 new negative2026-09-19: 527 new positive2026-09-19: 259 new negative2026-09-20: 401 new positive2026-09-20: 227 new negative2026-09-21: 462 new positive2026-09-21: 178 new negative2026-09-22: 850 new positive2026-09-22: 343 new negative2026-09-23: 433 new positive2026-09-23: 196 new negative2026-09-24: 399 new positive2026-09-24: 160 new negative2026-09-25: 387 new positive2026-09-25: 159 new negative2026-09-26: 494 new positive2026-09-26: 202 new negative2026-09-27: 439 new positive2026-09-27: 156 new negative2026-09-28: 359 new positive2026-09-28: 130 new negative2026-09-29: 378 new positive2026-09-29: 134 new negative2026-09-30: 397 new positive2026-09-30: 151 new negative2026-10-01: 340 new positive2026-10-01: 112 new negative2026-10-02: 380 new positive2026-10-02: 92 new negative2026-10-03: 442 new positive2026-10-03: 161 new negative2026-10-04: 402 new positive2026-10-04: 185 new negative2026-10-05: 394 new positive2026-10-05: 186 new negative2026-10-06: 719 new positive2026-10-06: 340 new negative2026-10-07: 626 new positive2026-10-07: 280 new negative2026-10-08: 521 new positive2026-10-08: 157 new negative2026-10-09: 408 new positive2026-10-09: 152 new negative2026-10-10: 493 new positive2026-10-10: 185 new negative2026-10-11: 518 new positive2026-10-11: 181 new negative2026-10-12: 402 new positive2026-10-12: 109 new negative2026-10-13: 419 new positive2026-10-13: 130 new negative2026-10-14: 399 new positive2026-10-14: 171 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Attention

1.7k4922026-05-13 — 723 pageviews2026-05-17 — 659 pageviews2026-05-21 — 729 pageviews2026-05-25 — 607 pageviews2026-05-29 — 881 pageviews2026-06-02 — 593 pageviews2026-06-06 — 606 pageviews2026-06-10 — 607 pageviews2026-06-14 — 524 pageviews2026-06-18 — 586 pageviews2026-06-22 — 652 pageviews2026-06-26 — 567 pageviews2026-06-30 — 606 pageviews2026-07-04 — 492 pageviews2026-07-08 — 721 pageviews2026-07-12 — 615 pageviews2026-07-16 — 654 pageviews2026-07-20 — 605 pageviews2026-07-24 — 514 pageviews2026-07-28 — 568 pageviews2026-08-01 — 577 pageviews2026-08-05 — 598 pageviews2026-08-09 — 577 pageviews2026-08-13 — 809 pageviews2026-08-17 — 665 pageviews2026-08-21 — 1,354 pageviews2026-08-25 — 1,083 pageviews2026-08-29 — 703 pageviews2026-09-02 — 621 pageviews2026-09-06 — 692 pageviews2026-09-10 — 634 pageviews2026-09-14 — 800 pageviews2026-09-18 — 651 pageviews2026-09-22 — 697 pageviews2026-09-26 — 676 pageviews2026-09-30 — 811 pageviews2026-10-04 — 663 pageviews2026-10-08 — 654 pageviews2026-10-12 — 932 pageviews2026-10-13 — 1,348 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

207k8.3k2026-10-01 00:12 — 13,563 viewers2026-10-01 09:12 — 21,601 viewers2026-10-01 18:12 — 71,189 viewers2026-10-02 03:34 — 15,319 viewers2026-10-02 12:34 — 53,818 viewers2026-10-02 21:34 — 44,781 viewers2026-10-03 06:34 — 17,547 viewers2026-10-03 15:34 — 120,146 viewers2026-10-04 00:34 — 35,182 viewers2026-10-04 09:34 — 27,076 viewers2026-10-04 18:34 — 45,340 viewers2026-10-05 03:34 — 12,359 viewers2026-10-05 12:34 — 47,911 viewers2026-10-05 21:34 — 48,673 viewers2026-10-06 06:34 — 16,167 viewers2026-10-06 15:34 — 44,954 viewers2026-10-07 00:35 — 20,798 viewers2026-10-07 09:34 — 43,444 viewers2026-10-07 18:34 — 62,990 viewers2026-10-08 03:34 — 15,243 viewers2026-10-08 12:34 — 121,916 viewers2026-10-08 21:34 — 54,472 viewers2026-10-09 06:34 — 16,116 viewers2026-10-09 15:34 — 112,185 viewers2026-10-10 00:34 — 26,893 viewers2026-10-10 09:34 — 27,401 viewers2026-10-10 18:35 — 48,811 viewers2026-10-11 03:34 — 15,182 viewers2026-10-11 12:34 — 206,610 viewers2026-10-11 21:34 — 46,568 viewers2026-10-12 06:34 — 17,366 viewers2026-10-12 15:34 — 48,806 viewers2026-10-13 00:34 — 26,609 viewers2026-10-13 09:34 — 40,242 viewers2026-10-13 18:34 — 85,127 viewers2026-10-14 03:34 — 19,874 viewers2026-10-14 12:34 — 49,831 viewers2026-10-14 21:34 — 41,381 viewers2026-10-14 23:34 — 33,281 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxMulti-playerCo-opSteam Trading CardsSteam WorkshopSteamVR CollectiblesIn-App PurchasesCamera ComfortColor AlternativesCustom Volume ControlsValve Anti-Cheat enabled2 DLC

27 supported languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese…

Post-launch support: 2 DLC released, first 2020-02-11 (Steam store data)

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

PvPRPGRTSMOBACo-opActionStrategye-sportsDifficultTeam-Based

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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