Valve formally launched its multiplayer online battle arena game Dota 2 on Tuesday.
Dota 2, named after the original Defense of the Ancients mod for the real-time strategy game Warcraft III, has been in the works for a few years. For the past two years, Valve put the game through a beta test. It became the largest active community in Steam’s history, with a monthly user base of more than 3 million players. The peak concurrent users, or the number that played at one time, was more than 300,000.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said the feedback from the users “has put Dota 2 in the position to welcome everyone to come and play.” The initial launch will be handled in waves, given the size of the player base. The staged rollout will help ensure that existing players can continue without disruption.
“Thanks to those who participated in the beta and Workshop contributors, you’ve helped us build the game and define the infrastructure to support it,” said Valve’s Erik Johnson. “Our goal over the next few weeks is continue to make the game more enjoyable as more players are brought in. We hope to make it as smooth as possible for existing players and new players alike.”
The game is available on the PC via Valve’s Steam service. The fantasy title is a fast-and-furious action game with elements of a role-playing game. You play it in real time, from a top-down perspective, with two factions battling for control of a map. For more information, go here. Valve has plenty of competition in the form of Riot Games’ League of Legends and Blizzard’s All-Stars, as well as other MOBA titles that are coming soon on both the PC and mobile.