A walk down memory lane: The history of Dota 2

Back in 2003, DotA kicked off as a simple custom map, but nobody expected that it would become one of the greatest games of all time.

Over two decades ago, Defense of the Ancients (DotA) sprang to life. Since then, we have seen various iterations of the game. From Underlords to Artifact, DotA has grown into an absolutely epic sensation across the globe. With massive tournaments such as The International and the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC), the game seems to have no end in sight.

But, with that in mind, we take a journey down memory lane, exploring DotA’s beginnings and how we have reached 2025, with its sequel.

What is DotA?

Starting with the most basic question, this one has a simple answer. DotA stands for Defense of the Ancients. It is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, where two teams of five players a side aim to destroy the enemy's “Ancient”. Each player picks a hero at the start of each game, which they utilise to assist their team on the path to victory. There are various hero roles too, with each hero having numerous spells or abilities, as well as multiple different ways to build them.

Three lanes exist, each with multiple defensive towers, which need to be destroyed to gain access to the enemy base. Beyond that, the game has a boss named Roshan, jungle camps, a river, runes, and many other aspects that players need to learn to master the game. Each lane also has minions (known as creeps) that spawn occasionally. These are used to arm gold to acquire items for your hero.

There is much more to DotA than words can express, but for now, we will dive into the game's history.

The history of DotA: From small beginnings to massive crowds

Back in 2003, we first saw DotA make an appearance. Created as a mod in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos by a modder named “Eul”, DotA was merely a custom map using the basics of the Blizzard game. Using inspiration from the StarCraft based Aeon of Strife, the game sprang to life. Soon after, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne arrived; this time, two new modders took over. “Ragn0r” and “Meian” moved the map forward to DotA Allstars until Steve “Guinsoo” Feak took control.

It was now 2004, and the popularity of the map began to grow. As he added more features, players rolled in, which eventually led to the creation of an official community. Dota-allstars.com was born, which served as an online hub for players to discuss everything related to the game. Soon after, in 2005, Guinsoo’s time with the game ended, with Niechus taking over briefly before the well-known IceFrog (IF) came into play.

The murmurs of Dota 2

By 2009, DotA was booming. IF did not slow down development, as playdota.com came to life following the sale of the dota-allstars domain. It was on playdota that the community first learned of IF’s move to Valve – and we knew that something was brewing.

By the end of 2010, Dota 2 was confirmed, and we had no idea of the heights it would reach.

Dota 2: The real road to The International

The beginnings of Dota 2 were shrouded in lawsuits. With Blizzard on one side and Valve on the other. By the end of it, the game would release on the Source engine and would be made available on Steam.

Once in beta, the game seemed to quickly build up a head of steam (no pun intended). Keys were dished out mostly to professional players, as waves of invites went out from Valve, and more players quickly flooded the lobbies. Once any player acquired a key, they would soon be given another two to dish out to friends, and so the beta grew immensely.

However, the biggest part of the Dota 2 beta came with the announcement of The International (TI). A tournament that would make waves in the esports community. The prize pool of an insane $1,600,000 created the buzz, and everything moved quickly from there. Although it remained in its beta state for two years, once Dota 2 was released officially in 2013, it already had millions logging in daily. With TI still going strong and building prize pools of unheard-of numbers in the esports scene.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, Dota 2 has seen constant updates and changes. Over the years, we have seen new heroes, major map changes, overhauls of items, and various tweaks to keep things fresh. Now, in 2025, Dota 2 is still going strong, with constant tournaments and TI still having a yearly placeholder as the biggest tournament for the game.

Ranked and various game modes

Through the years, the game has seen various modes or events such as Diretide, Frostivus, and Aghanim’s Labyrinth. More importantly, the game also became a competitive playground with ranked and Captain’s Mode. This gave players a chance to prove their skills and reach the upper echelons of the Dota 2 rankings. This, too, has changed through the years, with players needing to add their phone number to their Steam account to enter ranked, while also needing at least 100 hours in the game.

Concluding our journey

In 2025, Dota 2 looks extremely different from where it began. The game is barely recognisable from its DotA predecessor. What has stayed the same is the map and some heroes, although given major visual updates and now have crazy cosmetics. Many items still exist from the original title, with a few still there to pay homage to the first creators, such as Eul’s Scepter of Divinity and Guinsoo’s Scythe of Vyse.

The game itself still sees major updates constantly. And the massive following it has is like no other. For the DotA lovers, we fondly remember the days when the heroes could easily destroy the fountain, but rejoice at the way in which Dota 2 changed the face of gaming and esports.