How many people play Dota 2? Player count tracker (December 2021)
ValveDota 2 is one of the oldest and most complex esports titles in the scene. As a result, some people assume the player base is dwindling. However, the stats show it’s chugging along nicely — here’s how many people are playing Dota 2 in December 2021.
Dota 2 is the successor to Defense of the Ancients, a community-created mod on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos that first established the MOBA genre. IceFrog, the lead designer of the mod, is also the mastermind behind the sequel.
However, despite having a long and decorated history as an esports title, including seven of the top ten largest overall prize pools, there is a lot of hearsay floating around about the game and its esports scene dying.
The first sign suggesting otherwise is the fact that the community is bigger than ever before. This is also reflected in The International 10’s record-breaking $40 million prize pool, which was accrued from battle pass sales.
The second sign is the player count itself. It might not be the highest it’s ever been, but it’s certainly not the lowest. This begs the question: How many people are playing Dota 2 in 2021? We’ve got the answer right here.
Dota 2 Monthly Active Players
SteamchartsAccording to Steamcharts, Dota 2 has averaged 430,000 players in the last 30 days, with a peak player count of 720,000.
This is after the hype from The International 10 has faded, which often causes a temporary spike. It can be seen in the graph above.
It’s quite a bit lower than Dota 2’s peak in March 2016, which rounded off to an average of 675,000 players per day and a peak of 1.3 million.
However, it’s also a relatively healthy number that has been stable for almost four years.
How does Dota 2’s player base compare to others?
As it stands, Dota 2’s active player count is still the second-highest on Steam behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It’s also four time’s higher than New World’s player count, which falls behind in third on the list.
In terms of other MOBAs, it’s a little more than half of League of Legends’ 875,000 active players. However, it’s not all that surprising given the sheer popularity of that game.
The future of Dota 2
All the stats mentioned in this article point to a simple conclusion: Dota 2’s player count has passed its peak, but it’s a long way away from dying.
The foundation is still there, and it’s as strong as it has been in the past few years. With a bit of brainstorming and creativity, there’s a good chance it could grow once again.