Dota 2 had its ups and downs in 2020. Right now, the future of this MOBA is uncertain as more and more players are dumping this game for other popular esports.
So, let's have a quick look at tournament viewership and player count, and try to see whether Dota 2 is dying... or dead already.
Dota 2 Tournament Viewership
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot has changed when it comes to esports tournaments. Dota 2 took a hit as well and by far the most popular Dota 2 event, The International, was delayed until August 2021. Despite these mishaps, the scene showed resilience and had a number of quite successful online events throughout the year.
Here are the viewership numbers for popular events throughout 2020:
DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major - 475,236 peak viewers
WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 - 233,124 peak viewers
WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Mad Moon - 295,110 peak viewers
DOTA Summit 12 - 149,697 peak viewers
ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Europe & CIS - 508,082 peak viewers
ESL One Birmingham 2020 Europe & CIS - 228,746 peak viewers
WePlay! Pushka League - 188,422 peak viewers
BEYOND EPIC Europe/CIS - 306,039 peak viewers
OGA Dota PIT Season 2 Europe & CIS - 244,611 peak viewers
OMEGA League Europe Immortal Division - 412,391 peak viewers
ESL One Germany 2020 - 272,973 peak viewers
EPIC League Season 2 Division 1 - 263,542 peak viewers
As you can see from the numbers above, Dota 2 esports is not even close to being dead. If we compare these numbers to other popular titles such as CS:GO, Overwatch, or even League of Legends, we can easily spot that Dota 2 is not falling behind.
Dota 2 Player Count
Alongside League of Legends, Dota 2 is the go-to place for MOBA enthusiasts. Since this is a free-to-play game, there are a lot of come-and-go players. Let’s look at the numbers over the last 5 years.
2015 average players: 961,737
2016 average players: 1,067,949
2017 average players: 1,007,451
2018 average players: 778,627
2019 average players: 874,888
2020 average players: 616,415
We can easily spot that the player count went down this year and maybe we know the reason behind that. The game is way too repetitive and after a while, players will get fed up and look for something else. If Valve adds something new to Dota 2 or at least mix things up, the average player count could go up instantly. And let's not forget that the game's player stats consistently put it at number 2 as the most played game on Steam.
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If we look at just this year's data, we can easily see that the game got a nice push to its player base because of the coronavirus situation.
Despite the downward trend this year, new content undeniably helped the game stabilize its monthly player numbers when compared with the same months of previous years. The Aghanim's Labyrinth event during the summer was followed by Diretide 2020 around Halloween, the first Diretide event since 2013.
These events and the substantial Mistwoods Update,which introduced tons of changes, showed Valve's renewed interest in keeping the game alive with fresh content. We just have to wait and see if these efforts carry through into 2021.
READ MORE:
- Dota 2: A Big Update to Dota Plus, Guilds and Matchmaking!
- The Dota 2 International 11 Is Coming in 2022
Do you think Dota 2 is dying? Are you worried about its player count dwindling? What would make you play it again or more? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter or join our brand-new EarlyGame Discord server.
