Is Dota 2 making a resurgence? With the release of Dota: Dragon’s Blood, the new anime that Valve and Netflix produced, and patch 7.29, including the addition of an interface for new players, Valve seems poised to welcome and retain new players.
Dota 2: 7.29 update brings not only a new hero, Dawnbreaker but also a wide variety of changes ranging from item removals to map alterations. Typically, a new patch increases player counts, however, it appears that Valve is expecting a much larger turnout than normal. This may be due, in part, to the release of the animated series, Dota: Dragon’s Blood.
The comeback of Dota 2 facilitated by Valve?
Valve has been known to take a laissez-faire attitude when it came to marketing for Dota 2. Outside of their yearly tournament, The International, valve does not participate in additional marketing for the game.
Given the animated series’ potential to bring in new players, Valve felt it appropriate to upload an entirely new User Interface (UI) to help new players understand the extreme complexity of Dota.
But are the animated series, with the new player UI, and the recently released patch, actually bringing in more players? Based on the information provided by Steam, Dota’s player count does appear to be slightly higher (+3.00%) in the last 30 days.
Valve has yet to release any statement alluding to whether this is the result of old players rekindling. Their passion for the game or new players trying the game for the first time because they enjoyed the anime.
Nonetheless, the first marketing move by Valve for Dota 2 (outside of The International) as of now, seems to be successful. Hopefully, Valve plans to continue additional mediums of marketing for the MOBA giant.
Also read: Dota 2’s Dawnbreaker: Abilities
