Who Owns Dota 2?

Dota 2, one of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, is officially owned by Valve. However, this wasn't always the case, especially in its early years.

The History of Who Owns Dota 2

Dota 2’s origins trace back to Blizzard’s 1998 real-time strategy game, StarCraft: Blood War, where a fan created a custom map called Aeon of Strife. This map became popular and was eventually ported to Blizzard’s Warcraft 3, laying the foundation for the competitive genre we know today.

Who Made Dota Allstars?

The original DotA mod, DotA Allstars, was developed by several modders, including Kyle “Eul” Sommer, Steve “Guinsoo” Feak, and Neichus, with IceFrog later becoming the lead developer. Steve “Pendragon” Mescon created and maintained the official community site, dota-allstars.com, until selling the domain to Riot Games, which led to significant backlash from the DotA community.

Pendragon’s Role

Pendragon’s actions, including filing a trademark for Defense of the Ancients and later selling the DotA-Allstars forum back in an incomplete state, fueled ongoing debates between Dota 2 and League of Legends communities. Despite these controversies, Valve and IceFrog officially developed Dota 2, with IceFrog remaining active in its development.