- Dota 2 has recorded the lowest average player count in 13 months.
- The game lost more than 27,000 players in February 2021, with an average player count of 404,832.1.
- This dip has ironically come at a time when the DPC system is alive and kicking and Valve, in collaboration with Netflix, is promoting its new Dota 2 themed anime.
Dota 2’s average player count has taken a toll in February 2021, as it has recorded its lowest amount in 13 months. Losing more than 27,000 players from the previous month of January, Dota 2 registered an average player count of just 404,832.1. A similarly low rate of players was last recorded in January 2020 when the player count had fallen to the below 400,000 numbers (378,925.4). This plunge in the user base has ironically come at a time when the Dota 2 professional scene, which resumed its DPC system after a long halt, is alive and kicking. Interestingly, it also coincides with the fact that Valve collaborated with the popular OTT platform of Netflix and recently announced an anime, themed on their flagship MOBA.
RELATED: Dota 2 Anime Dragon's Blood: Release Date, Where to Watch, Trailer
Dota 2’s average player count declines once again
Valve’s MOBA has been witnessing a dip in its player count since May 2020 with only November 2020 and January 2021 have seen an increase in the amount of Dota 2 users and the rest being a steady decline in the number of players. February 2021 has been the worst of all, as it has recorded 404,832.1, which is the lowest amount not only since January 2020.
Timeline of player count since January 2020
January- April 2020
After the average player count hit a very low number of 378,925.4 in January 2020, Dota 2 registered three productive months - February, March and April as the game witnessed a user gain of more than 100K. This rise likely happened due to players returning to the game because countries worldwide imposed lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus.
May- October 2020
For the first time ever in the history of Dota 2, it lost players for six consecutive months - from May to October 2020. The average user count, which had risen to 493,300.3 in April 2020, crashed nearly 100K to 406,361.4 in October.
November 2020- February 2021
The custom game mode of Diretide was released on October 30, 2020, which resulted in an increase in the number of players in November for the first time in seven months. Gaining 19,543.5, the player count improved to 425,904.8. However, December again recorded a slight fall of 3,352.5. The return of the DPC can perhaps be attributed to the rise of 10,119.3 users in the month of January 2021. However, since the DPC continued to present some amazing Dota 2 action in February 2021 and Valve also announced the anime, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, a steep fall of more than 27,000 players in the month is a cause of concern.
RELATED: Dota 2 Reaches Highest Peak Player Count in 5 Months After Diretide Release
Image Via steamchartsMany users prefer to watch the broadcast of the live games on Twitch rather than viewing them in-game. So, according to the information available on SteamDB, though Dota 2 Twitch viewers did not soar too high, they were rather consistent last month. This can be one of the reasons behind a plunge in the average player count in February.
Image Via SteamDHowever, losing more than 27,000 players is still a disheartening statistic for any Dota 2 fan also considering marketing campaigns as the anime have been recently introduced. A primary issue for the last many years has been the awful new player experience which has led to negative returns in regards to player users. Hopefully, Valve starts working on it soon and succors the game we all love.
