Cover-Credits:
Valve
Dota 2's player count in 2021 is still a roller coaster ride. After a discouraging month in September, the game has now seen an increase of nearly 60,000 players in October as per Steam Charts. With 59,679 (an increase of 15%) more players to be precise, this marked the biggest increase since February 2019 when almost 90,000 more players played the game. Additionally, the current increase has helped boost the peak player count and average monthly player count to stronger levels. This growth in the month of October follows the tenth edition of Dota 2's premier tournament, The International (TI), which was held from 7th to 17th Oct 2021.
Oct 2021 brings a boost in Dota 2 player counts
With nearly 34,000 fewer players in September 2021, Dota 2 started October 2021 on a low note. The decline was attributed to a lack of third-party and Valve-sponsored Dota 2 tournaments along with a lack of in-game content, as the primary focus was on the now concluded TI10.
Steam Charts
With the commencement of TI10 on 7th Oct 2021, the game appeared to have begun attracting more players steadily. There were players who not only played the game but also watched the official matches in the Dota 2 client. In addition, TI had been absent for two years since its tenth edition had to be postponed in 2020 due to a pandemic. With the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) resuming in January, TI10 was initially slated to take place at Sweden in August but was moved to Romania in October. After what seemed like an eternity, TI10 finally delivered all that Dota 2 fans had been waiting for.
TI10 also broke viewership records to become the most watched Dota 2 event, peaking at 2.7 million viewers. This was a 37% increase from TI9's peak viewership.
Aside from the hype surrounding TI10, another element that seems to have contributed to the growth is the announcement and release of Dota 2's 122nd hero, Marci. In Dota 2 x Netflix's anime series, DOTA: Dragon's Blood, Marci was introduced as a mute character and was very well received by a large number of fans.
The average player count in October 2021 stood at 450,761 which was the highest number since June 2020. The peak player count was 752,482, the highest since April 2020. As a whole, the month of October has been the most fruitful month for the game in 2021 in terms of player count.
This year has certainly witnessed some highs and lows. At the beginning of this year, the game had an average player count of 422,552. After some red and green months, the player count is now around 450,000. So far, things are looking up.
There are two upcoming events that could potentially boost Dota 2's player count. The first of these events include the DPC 2021-22, which is expected to begin on 29th Nov 2021. The second event would be the release of the second season of DOTA: Dragon's Blood in January 2022.
