Dota 2

Valve

Released: Jul 9, 2013
Platforms: WindowsmacOSLinux
Last updated: 05 Sep 2026, 05:54 GMT

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20 posts

27 Aug 2026Developer post
The International 2026 Grand Champions
Congratulations to Team Spirit, Grand Champions at The International 2026. After enduring a challenging year, Team Spirit regained their ultimate form just in time to take a five-game Grand Finals slugfest and claim the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai. Spirit's Group Stage started
Congratulations to Team Spirit, Grand Champions at The International 2026. After enduring a challenging year, Team Spirit regained their ultimate form just in time to take a five-game Grand Finals slugfest and claim the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai.
Spirit's Group Stage started strong, with 2-0 victories over both Xtreme Gaming and Aurora Gaming. They followed with 2-1 win over Team Liquid that put Spirit just one series win away from qualifying for the main stage. They wouldn't get it. Instead, they served as a stepping stone. First to Team Vision, who dropped Spirit in just two games to secure their own invite to the arena. Next, Nigma Galaxy followed suit, handing Spirit another 0-2 loss to snatch a spot on the main stage and force Spirit into elimination play.
Their elimination-round opponent? A scrappy Team Resilience who, despite their lower spot in the standings, had clawed out at least one victory in every series they'd played. This round would be no different. Team Spirit took game one with ease, but Resilience rebounded to force a win-or-go-home game three. There, Team Resilience managed to keep pace for a while, until Spirit pulled away in the back half of the match to secure their spot at The International Main Event.
The first obstacle at the arena would be the dangerous Iron Wing -- who'd already taken Group Stage series wins off three teams who'd reached the main stage. It wouldn't matter. Team Spirit clipped Iron Wing to send them spiraling into the Lower Bracket and eventual elimination.
The next series wouldn't net Spirit the same results. Team Vision, the foe that had already denied them an easy path to the Playoffs, was waiting for them once more. And the result was mostly the same -- Spirit lost. This time 1-2. This time falling into the Lower Bracket, where Team Liquid was already waiting after eliminating last year's champions. Liquid had a stellar showing in the groups, dropping only one series. But that loss came to this same Team Spirit squad they were again facing, and now Team Spirit wouldn't concede even one game.
Spirit flushed Liquid out of the tournament to begin an undefeated run through the Lower Bracket, next bouncing both BoomBoys and Team Yandex with 2-0 statements to reach the Grand Finals against -- who else -- Team Vision, the front-runners that had been blocking Spirit's path every step of the way. The team that had stopped Spirit from skipping the elimination round. That had dropped them into the Lower Bracket to fight for their lives. The team that hadn't lost a single series in Shanghai... was now the one thing standing between Team Spirit and the Aegis of Champions.
Game one was Team Spirit all the way. They looked to be cruising to victory in game two as well, but Vision had other plans, clawing back to even the series at one game apiece. It seemed that Vision might steal the momentum by snatching game three, but Spirit held firm to retake the series lead 2-1, just one win away from the Aegis. Once again, Vision would deny them. Their steady play in game four left no room for doubt -- this series was bound for a winner-take-all game five. And it didn't disappoint.
After an hour-long showdown that was still anyone's game until the very end, Team Spirit finally overcame the team that had tormented them throughout the tournament, claiming the Aegis of Champions and crowning themselves the very best Dota team in the world. Three-time winners Yatoro and Collapse, and two-time winner Larl now welcome their teammates not_me and rue into an immortal pantheon.
As bearers of the ultimate symbol of victory, these names shall forever be inscribed upon the Aegis of Champions:
2026 - Team Spirit
Illia "Yatoro" Muliarchuk
Denis "Larl" Sigitov
Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
Alexey "not_me" Kosmynin
Alexander "rue" Filin
Until Next Time
If you missed any of the broadcast, or just want to rewatch some of the iconic plays, head over to the Dota 2 YouTube channel, where you'll find replays of the entire show. You can also find a collection of photos from the event over on the Dota 2 Instagram and even more hi-res shots on our Dota 2 flickr. As always, we'd like to thank all of the players, talent, and everyone in the Dota community for helping bring this global celebration to life. We've been honored to once again help shepherd this event to the stage, but it wouldn't be what it is without all of you.
Original post
20 Aug 2026PC Gamer
'Dude no joke looks like Hugh Jackman now': The internet is swooning over Gabe Newell's svelte new look at The International
Valve honcho Gabe Newell recorded a video to kick off The International 2026, the latest edition of Valve's annual Dota 2 championship tournament, and as noticed by GamesRadar , the reaction to it is pleasingly wholesome... Read more.
19 Aug 2026Developer post
The International Main Event
The sixteen best Dota teams in the world spent the last week battling through an intense Group Stage, and now only eight contenders remain. In a matter of hours Team Vision, Team Liquid, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons, BoomBoys, Team Spirit, Iron Wing, and Team Yandex will begin the
The sixteen best Dota teams in the world spent the last week battling through an intense Group Stage, and now only eight contenders remain. In a matter of hours Team Vision, Team Liquid, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons, BoomBoys, Team Spirit, Iron Wing, and Team Yandex will begin the final push to claim the Aegis of Champions as they all fight to be the last team standing at The International 2026.
The double elimination bracket that will crown our champions kicks off at SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on Thursday, August 20 and will culminate in a best-of-five Grand Finals on Sunday, August 23. We congratulate everyone who has made it this far, and we eagerly await the final test.
Attending The International
If you're heading to the arena in Shanghai to watch The International live, a flurry of activity awaits you. Check out some of the more important details below.
Schedule
The International pre-show begins each day at 9:30 AM China Standard Time. Things officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony at 10 AM on Thursday, and the first series is scheduled to start soon after. On the following days, matches will begin at 10 AM. Take in the full schedule of matches available here.
Meet the Teams
Each day of the Main Event, fans will have the chance to attend meet and greets with teams and talent on the 2F Concourse of the arena. Fan participation will be determined by a random draw of eligible ticket holders who have purchased tickets prior to 5 PM the day before. Selected fans will be notified electronically — as well as on TV displays throughout the venue concourse. More information on slots and eligibility will be provided on site.
Crimson Witness and Badge Binding
Attendees should pick up their commemorative badges and event swag bags when they scan a digital ticket for their first entry into the venue. Remember to bind your badge to your Steam account to ensure you're eligible for Crimson Witness Treasure drops on the First Blood of each game at The International.
Venue Information
To help things run smoothly, here's a rundown of some venue details you should know:
What time do doors open? Arena doors open every day at 8 AM China Standard Time, two hours before the first match. Please note that entry will not be allowed after 9 PM each evening.
Where should I enter the arena? Please queue for entrance at the arena's Gate 0 Plaza. Those with 1F Stands and Suites tickets, please queue at the left-side (facing the venue) security checkpoint. Those with 3F Stands tickets, please queue at the right-side (facing the venue) security checkpoint. After passing through the turnstile for ticket verification, please collect your swag bag.
Can I sit anywhere or are there preassigned seats? Seats at The International 2026 are assigned. Please make sure to queue in the entry area designated outside of the arena for your seating sections.
Is re-entry permitted? All ticket holders are permitted to enter and exit the venue up to THREE times per match day. For re-entry, please re-queue in the designated lane.
The On-Site Secret Shop
The Secret Shop will operate in SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center from August 20 - 23, opening each day at 9:00am and closing after the first break of the last series of the day. Customers are welcome to purchase directly from on-site cashiers or use the Perfect World app to place an order for pick-up.
On-Site Activities
In addition to SecretLab and SteelSeries booths in the concourse, The International Players Jackets and Championship rings from all previous years will be on display. Plus, all fans are invited to leave their mark on the event by signing one of the graffiti walls. There will also be opportunities to take photos with cosplayers roaming the arena on Saturday and Sunday, and don't forget to check out the handmade embroidered Aegis of Champions on display throughout the event.
Cosplay Finalists
Don't miss the best of this year's crop of Dota 2 cosplay, on display in the arena on August 23 before the Grand Finals.
Watching The International Online
Even if you can't make it to the arena, there are still a ton of options to catch all the action at The International. From Twitch to YouTube to Steam, The International will be streamed on multiple platforms in multiple languages.
Chinese: Twitch, Steam, YouTube
English: Twitch, Steam, YouTube
Russian: Twitch, Steam, YouTube
Spanish: Twitch, Steam, YouTube, Facebook
The Online Secret Shop
Fans interested in purchasing swag from this year's offerings are welcome to purchase online. We have two shops available, depending on which part of the world you're in. Fans located in China can purchase through https://wmsjdj.tmall.com/ and fans everywhere else can head over to https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/ to check it all out.
Original post
12 Aug 2026Developer post
The International: Streams, Secret Shop, and More
It's the final countdown: Players and talent have landed, and all of the pieces are falling into place to make Shanghai the center of the Dota universe for the next two weeks. It's time to finish crafting your fantasy rosters, lock in your first round of predictions, and get read
It's the final countdown: Players and talent have landed, and all of the pieces are falling into place to make Shanghai the center of the Dota universe for the next two weeks. It's time to finish crafting your fantasy rosters, lock in your first round of predictions, and get ready to tune in because The International 2026 is almost underway.
Whether you're looking to watch online, find Dota activities in Shanghai to keep you busy until streams start, or looking for merch you can wear while you're out in Shanghai waiting for games to start, we've got you covered below.
The International Group Stage
Sixteen teams have earned the right to compete for the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai, but only eight will face off in the main event. First, they must survive the gauntlet of the Swiss Format Group Stage.
Group Stage games begin on Thursday, August 13 and wrap on Sunday, August 16. In that span, all sixteen teams will play best-of-three matches against other teams with the same overall series record. A fourth series win will earn a team an automatic berth at The International; a fourth loss will result in elimination.
By end of play on Saturday, three teams will have secured spots in The International and three teams will have been eliminated. The ten remaining teams will face off in a special elimination round to decide the rest. Every single one of the five series on Sunday will send one team home and the other onward to the main event.
The International Main Event
On Thursday, August 20, The International will move to SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center and open the doors to more than ten thousand fans. Four days of intense play through a double-elimination bracket will culminate in the Grand Finals on Sunday, August 23, and only then will the last team stand victorious and raise the Aegis of Champions.
Tickets for the event are sold out, but there are tons of ways to watch online — and even a handful of special in-person opportunities available around the city of Shanghai.
Tournament Streams
There's nothing quite like watching the best Dota players in the world face off in a live event, and while life and accompanying biological imperatives can make it difficult to try and watch every single game live, here are all the links you'd need to make a glorious attempt.
Chinese: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
English: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
Russian: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams
Spanish: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Stream D; Steam: All Streams; YouTube: All Streams; Facebook: All Streams
Dota 2 Heroes Around Shanghai
From August 13 to August 18, multiple Dota heroes will descend upon iconic landmarks across Shanghai, with a giant Aegis of Champions making its grand debut. Meanwhile, several commercial districts have set up check-in spots for fans to visit and collect souvenirs.
Check out the landmark details below or visit Perfect World's Shanghai Dota Tour site for a handy map.
Dota Hero Landmark Locations:
Wujiaochang Commercial District
Wujiaochang Guangchang: Aegis of Champions
Bailian ZX Fun Mall: Queen of Pain, Axe, and Pudge
Shanghai Wujiaochang Wanda Plaza: Juggernaut
Lujiazui Super Brand Mall (Aug 12-18): Windranger
Shanghai EXPO Culture Park (Aug 13-18): Mars and Shadow Fiend
Taikoo Li Qiantan (Aug 18–24): Aegis of Champions, Drow Ranger, Crystal Maiden, and Juggernaut
Standard Check-in Spots: Lujiazui 96 Plaza, New bund 31, Shanghai No. 1 Shopping Center, Expo Place
The Secret Shops
If you're looking to scope out this year's merchandise offerings, our partner stores are already online for both Chinese and international customers.
For China domestic fans: https://wmsjdj.tmall.com/
For fans everywhere else: https://pwrdesports.aliexpress.com/
The Secret Shop will also operate in SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center from August 20 - 23, opening each day at 9:00am and closing after the first break of the last match series of the day. Customers are welcome to purchase directly from onsite cashiers or use the Perfect World app to place an order for pick-up.
Community Streams
The strength of Dota has always been its vibrant and passionate community. The International is an expression of that, both the in-person event and the many millions who participate online, those watching and those streaming.
Speaking of which: As always, we welcome community streams of the event. There's more detail in the community stream FAQ, but to summarize: You have a lot of freedom in how to stream your TI commentary the way you and your viewers want as long as your stream is based on DotaTV and your own content, not on someone else's stream (including ours).
Wrapping Up
There's obviously a lot going on already, but there's even more info about The International to come. We'll be back soon to provide more details about on-site events, badges, Crimson Witness drops and more as we move closer to the show. Until then, make sure to get those predictions in. We'll see you when groups start.
Original post
30 Jul 2026Developer post
Gameplay Patch 7.41e and Summer Scrub
The International approaches and we've just released an update that includes predictions, fantasy, supporter bundles , and a chance to prove your skills and win new Immortals and unlock terrains. But that's not all. Today we're also releasing patch 7.41e . Even that's not everyth
30 Jul 2026Developer post
The International: Predictions, Fantasy, and Supporter Bundles
Nearly a year has passed since Team Falcons hoisted the Aegis of Champions as the final team standing in Hamburg. But that was last year's story, and the time has come to turn our thoughts to Shanghai and the crop of competitors who vie to write the tale of this year. All of thei
Nearly a year has passed since Team Falcons hoisted the Aegis of Champions as the final team standing in Hamburg. But that was last year's story, and the time has come to turn our thoughts to Shanghai and the crop of competitors who vie to write the tale of this year. All of their battles have brought them to the precipice. The International is just two weeks away. After a decisive month of intense qualifiers, dominant performances from prior champions, and upset victories from up-and-comers, all sixteen teams have earned their invitations to this year's International. Now it's time for us to extend an invitation to you. We've just released an update featuring this year's TI-themed activities and item bundles. Not sure what that means? Keep reading for a handy guide to all the different ways to participate so you can find the content that's most interesting to you.
I want to directly support my favorite teams and personalities.
With supporter bundles for all sixteen teams and more than a hundred participating event talent, there's never been a better time to support your favorites. In addition to the four primary event languages, this year we're also offering community bundles for WXC Co. (Filipino), NS_ART (Brazilian Portuguese), and Maincast (Ukrainian). 50% of sales from supporter bundles (teams, talent, and community broadcasts) goes directly to the team or talent and 30% goes to the tournament prize pool.
I want to show off that I supported my favorite team.
Purchasing team supporter bundles of various levels will grant all kinds of things: custom sprays, a special badge for your health bar, custom team emoticons, custom chat wheel lines, and — new this year as a part of the Gold tier — a global effigy. This new building will replace your regular effigy through the end of September, allowing you to show your team support right in your base. Not supportive enough? You can purchase additional supporter levels that will upgrade the appearance of your effigy, including custom effects.
I'm right about everything. Help me prove it.
Predictions are back: How will the Swiss matches shake out? What about the bracket? Fun fact: Exactly zero have ever gotten the full Swiss stage results correct. Will you be the first this year? Not if you don't get your guesses in before the first match starts (10am CST, Thursday 8/13).
I'm a huge fan of my favorite team but also I dislike all of their choices and wish I was in charge.
We've got a new take on fantasy this year. We've introduced a new customization point: You. You're the coach, and can now assign custom modifiers to yourself that influence your whole team. We've also updated prefixes, suffixes, and the player drafting rules. You'll draft your perfect team in (mostly) pairs: both supports from one team, the safelaner and offlaner from one team, and then your favorite midlaner.
I am a Dota player and I'm already assuming I'll be the best at everything. What do I win?
Like last year, awards will be granted to participating players based on their performance relative to everyone else. The Tyrian Regalia treasure is making a royal return with five refashioned Immortal items, exclusively available to the top performing players. New this year is the Terrain Token, which will allow winners to choose one of six returning custom terrains, including Reef's Edge and Immortal Gardens. Look for more information, including reward tiers and lots of details, in the Rewards section of the main Dota 2 menu.
All of this is great but I did my predictions and my fantasy and supported the teams and talent already. What do I do now?
Good news for you: We also just shipped a new gameplay patch along with a ton of content fixes. Check out the Summer Scrub 2026 page for more details.
Original post
01 Jul 2026Developer post
Dota 2 Update - 7/1/2026
Over the past few days we've made various bug fixes and improvements: Dark Carnival Playing Regular and Turbo games now reward Scrap tickets. 6 Scrap can be traded for a Hero ticket of your choice. Regular games reward 2, Turbo games reward 1. Scrap is rewarded regardless of winn
Over the past few days we've made various bug fixes and improvements:
Dark Carnival

Playing Regular and Turbo games now reward Scrap tickets. 6 Scrap can be traded for a Hero ticket of your choice. Regular games reward 2, Turbo games reward 1. Scrap is rewarded regardless of winning or losing.
Seeing Stones can now be earned by playing Co-op Bot Matches on Hard and Unfair difficulties
Candyworks now displays if an offered item is already owned
The Dark Carnival Hero Filter button now shows a tooltip displaying the ticket requirement for the next reward
Fixed the Ticket Trader not working after being unlocked for some players
Fixed Ability Draft and cooperative bot matches not granting Tickets
Fixed Candy Shop Rerolls granted from the Fortune Teller being capped by the weekly maximum
Fixed Pick the Lock area gameplay changing with FPS
Fixed Automaton Personas having the wrong hero chat wheel lines
General

Players no longer need to select both high-demand roles in order to not spend a Role Queue Game for Ranked Roles. Instead, solo players need to select at least one of the high-demand roles in order to not spend a Role Queue Game.
Innate abilities with an Area of Effect now correctly display their range in the world when hovering over the ability
Fixed being able to enter the game without a hero in Captain's Mode if your team has picked a hero that is not available for random selection and no one has selected that hero at the end of the picking phase
Fixed bots going after items near or under enemy towers
Fixed bots getting stuck while dewarding
Fixed being unable to close the in-game Coach dialog
Fixed various server and client crashes
Fixed being unable to spectate league matches
Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause ability charges to get stuck for abilities with an Aghanim's Scepter upgrade when repeatedly dropping and picking up the Aghanim's Scepter
Fixed recipes in stash automatically combining when receiving a shard from killing Tormentor
Fixed Tower Glyph of Fortification Multishot attacks incorrectly having True Strike
Fixed Dark Carnival Pies showing which hero is the real one versus an illusion
Fixed sources of cleave benefitting from spell lifesteal
Fixed Granite Golem healing more than expected with its aura
Fixed Prowler's Shaman Desecrate decreasing more than the intended amount of base amor
Fixed Wildwing Ripper's Toughness Aura not functioning as an aura
Items

Soul Ring's temporary mana now displays as a separate segment in the mana bar while it's available
Fixed Conjurer's Catalyst not working if acquired while dead
Fixed Conjurer's Catalyst Spellover not being affected by Area of Effect bonuses
Fixed Gem of True Sight radius not updating dynamically with Area of Effect changing values
Fixed Hand of Midas proccing Conjurer's Catalyst's Spellover
Fixed Harmonizer not considering abilities with charges on cooldown
Fixed Ironwood Nut giving the wrong primary stat bonus for certain heroes
Fixed Ironwood Nut's bonus stats sometimes not displaying properly
Heroes

Fixed Alchemist's Unstable Concoction not interacting correctly with Grimstoke's Soulbind
Fixed Arc Warden Tempest Double not copying Ironwood Nut permanent bonus stats
Fixed Arc Warden's Flux with Aghanim's Scepter having a brief window where the target is no longer silenced if one Flux ends on the target while a second Flux is still active on the target
Fixed Arc Warden's Runic Infusion sometimes not immediately calculating the bonus stats when activating a Power Rune
Fixed Bane permanently losing Nightmare if he casts the ability on a debuff immune unit that then attacks a unit that has been Nightmared by Rubick
Fixed Bane's Enfeeble affecting multiple enemies if the enemies were right on top of each other
Fixed Centaur Warrunner's Hoof Stomp triggering magic stick before the ability has finished casting
Fixed Centaur's Retaliate working on reflected damage
Fixed Crystal Maiden's Glacier Guard triggering when using the Twin Gates
Fixed Doom's Devour Aghanim's Shard upgrade not correctly granting the +15% Area of Effect bonuses to stolen creep abilities
Fixed Ember Spirit's Fire Remnant's Shard Upgrade tooltip not specifying a Fire Remnant is spawned when Ember Spirit dies
Fixed Faceless Void's level 20 talent displaying the wrong value for the bonus attack speed given during Chronosphere
Fixed Hoodwink's Bushwhack not always applying the correct amount of total damage
Fixed Invoker's Quas and Exort Shard upgrades not correctly applying on Rubick
Fixed Io's level 15 talent "+50% Spirits Damage" having incorrect text in the talent tree
Fixed Kunkka's level 10 talent slowing enemies via sources of cleave other than Tidebringer
Fixed Lina gaining Fiery Soul Stacks when proccing Maelstrom or Mjollnir under Largo's Croak of Genius buff
Fixed Lone Druid's Spirit Bear immediately dying when resummoned while a wraith due to Wraith King's Aghanim's Scepter
Fixed Disgraced Regalia appearing in Spirit Bear's backpack instead of neutral slot when dying with Divine Regalia
Fixed Spirit Bear getting his Divine Regalia back if he dies independent of Lone Druid
Fixed Monkey King's Changing of the Guard being usable while Taunted
Fixed Muerta's Supernatural having the incorrect number of max stacks
Fixed Necrophos's Reaper Scythe gaining permanent stacks when killing illusions
Fixed Oracle's False Promise Damage Indicator visual effects not properly calculating lethal damage
Fixed Oracle's False Promise Damage Indicator visual effects not properly showing the heal visual effects if the target is going to be healed when the effect ends
Fixed Oracle's level 25 talent "Fortune's End constantly Dispels" incorrectly piercing Debuff Immunity when affecting enemies
Fixed Phantom Lancer Juxtapose Shard blocking creep camps permanently
Fixed Primal Beast being able to damage enemies with Onslaught twice when queuing the Onslaught and stop commands after a forced movement during Pulverize
Fixed Razor's Storm Surge Aghanim's Shard upgrade not always correctly applying
Fixed Rubick not spawning an urnaconda when stealing it from Shadow Shaman
Fixed Shadow Fiend being able to stack infinite souls using Feast of Souls with an Octarine Core
Fixed Slardar's Corrosive Haze remaining duration being reduced when re-applied by Slithereen Crush with Aghanim's Shard upgrade
Fixed Sniper's Keen Scope not being disabled by Break
Fixed Storm Spirit's Overload ability with Aghanim's Shard applying 6 sources of damage instead of 3 if activating while already having an Overload buff
Fixed Tinker's Keen Conveyance at level 3 sometimes targeting friendly heroes instead of the fountain when the ability was self cast
Fixed Vengeful Spirit's Vengeance Aura self-bonus sometimes getting lost after using Manta Style
Fixed Warlock's level 15 talent "+8 Upheaval Attack Speed per second on Allies" causing Eldritch Summoning to create Imps when allies die
Fixed Winter Wyvern's Cold Embrace with Aghanim's Shard casting a Splinter Blast on enemies if the enemies were right on top of each other
Fixed Wraith King's Vampiric Spirit not turning Wraith King into a wraith if he levels up at the same time as dying
Original post
26 Jun 2026PCGamesN
Dota 2's Dark Carnival has begun, with a huge story chapter and five automaton hero personas
At last, weeks of speculation and mystery can finally be put to bed: the Dota 2 Dark Carnival has begun. Valve's latest big event is here, and as many were hoping (myself included), it's a full-scale story campaign in a similar format to 2024's Crownfall. This time, the tale open
25 Jun 2026Developer post
The Dark Carnival
Don't you hate it when you wake up in a prison car with no memory of how you got there and, worse, no way to escape, only to discover you've been captured by an evil puppet-man as part of some dark bargain with an ancient world-conquering evil? We've all been there. We're pulling
25 Jun 2026PCGamesN
After mysteriously vanishing from the game, Dota 2's Axe has been 'replaced' by a fake
Dota 2 has a new hero - or should that be an old one? It's tough to be sure. If you logged into the Valve MOBA this week, you might have been surprised to find that Axe, one of its longest-standing and most iconic faces, was completely absent from the roster. You couldn't play hi
20 Jun 2026PCGamesN
Valve calls out Dota 2 dataminers desperate for Dark Carnival news: "Why are you guys reading our variable names?"
Rumors of a new Dota 2 event called Dark Carnival have been swirling among the MOBA's community for several months, with the leading speculation being that Valve is preparing a new, large-scale feature in the vein of 2024's Crownfall. Lately, in-game signs have suggested that som
05 Jun 2026PCGamesN
A new Dota 2 update buffs Nature's Prophet and Arc Warden, but everyone's talking about a mysterious Axe 'change'
Fresh Dota 2 patch notes have just dropped, and that means the meta will start to creak and shift under the weight of Valve's latest balance adjustments. There are some welcome changes in Dota 2 update 7.41d, along with a few that I'm sure people will question, and even a nice qu
05 Jun 2026Developer post
7.41d Gameplay Patch
Patch 7.41d is out now and you can check out the patch notes here . In addition, we've recently addressed the following issues: Fixed Greevils not spawning their equipped effects Fixed Earthshaker's Planetfall Arcana not tracking combos and combo damage properly Fixed right click
Patch 7.41d is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.
In addition, we've recently addressed the following issues:

Fixed Greevils not spawning their equipped effects
Fixed Earthshaker's Planetfall Arcana not tracking combos and combo damage properly
Fixed right click on Dota Labs Overlay Map not working when "Auto-Repeat Right Mouse" is enabled
Fixed Bottle with a stored Rune being able to be moved in and out of the backpack
Fixed Harmonizer not considering abilities with charges on cooldown
Fixed Elder Titan's Astral Spirit's movement speed not taking Wind Lace into account
Fixed Elder Titan's Echo Stomp shard not swapping places with Astral Spirit if he is being moved by another ability when the stomp goes off
Fixed Invoker not receiving an Aghanim's Blessing from Alchemist if Alchemist casts Aghanim's Scepter on Invoker when his main inventory is full but the backpack had space
Fixed Alchemist being able to repeatedly give Invoker Aghanim's Blessings if Invoker hasn't chosen his Aghanim's Scepter upgrade
Fixed Invoker not correctly being refunded for his Aghanim's Blessing if Invoker has not selected an Aghanim's Scepter upgrade and Alchemist casts Aghanim's Scepter on him
Fixed Spirit Bear's permanently consumed items not counting towards Lone Druid's net worth
Fixed Spirit Breaker permanently changing teams when he reflects Venomancer's Noxious Plague with Lotus Orb and then casts Planar Pocket on Venomancer before Noxious Plague spreads, then after it spreads to a neutral creep Venomancer uses Helm of the Dominator on that creep
Fixed Venomancer being able to Transmute Spirit Breaker with Hand of Midas through the same process
Fixed Wraith King's Vampiric Spirit not turning Wraith King into a wraith if he levels up at the same time as dying
Ability Draft: Fixed Forge Spirit starting at too high a level
Ability Draft: Fixed Brewmaster's old Aghanim's Scepter being available
Original post
26 May 2026Developer post
The International 2026 Ticket Sales
In just a few short months, the finest Dota teams in the world will gather in Shanghai to battle for the Aegis of Champions in front of thousands of cheering fans. We've announced the official team invitations , and now we'd like to extend one to you. If you want to be one of tho
26 May 2026Developer post
The International 2026 Invitations and Qualifiers
Throughout the year, Dota teams around the world battle to prove themselves worthy of direct invitation to The International — and a chance to compete for the Aegis of Champions on the world's biggest stage. Teams that secure invites can begin to focus on their final preparations
Throughout the year, Dota teams around the world battle to prove themselves worthy of direct invitation to The International — and a chance to compete for the Aegis of Champions on the world's biggest stage. Teams that secure invites can begin to focus on their final preparations, while the remaining contenders face one last chance to fight their way in.

Direct Invites

With less than three months until we raise the curtains on the big show, we’re excited to extend these seven teams invitations to Shanghai, China to compete in The International 2026:

Aurora Gaming [expand type=details] Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko Rafli "Mikoto" Fathur Rahman Wei Shen "Ws`" Chung Myroslav "Mira" Kolpakov Oleh "kaori" Medvedok [/expand]
BoomBoys [expand type=details] Ilia "Kiritych~" Ulianov Danil "gpk~" Skutin Matvei "MieRo`" Vasiunin Vitalie "Save-" Melnic Vladislav "Kataomi`" Semenov [/expand]
Team Falcons [expand type=details] Oliver "Skiter" Lepko Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak Ammar "ATF" Alassaf Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu [/expand]
Team Liquid [expand type=details] Michael "m1CKe" Vu Michał "Nisha" Jankowski Marcus "Ace" Christensen Samuel "Boxi" Svahn Erik "tOfu" Engel [/expand]
Tundra Esports [expand type=details] Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov Neta "33" Shapira Matthew "Ari" Walker Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon [/expand]
Xtreme Gaming [expand type=details] Chunyu "Ame" Wang Jin Xiang "NothingToSay" Cheng Jing "Xxs" Lin Linsen "fy" Xu Jian Wei "xNova" Yap [/expand]
Team Yandex [expand type=details] Alimzhan "医者watson" Islambekov Ilya "CHIRA_JUNIOR" Chirtsov Dmitrii "DM" Dorokhin Martin "Saksa" Sazdov Arman "Malady" Orazbayev [/expand]

Regional Qualifiers
The seven teams above have already earned invitations, which means there are still nine slots available at TI, just waiting for the squads that can survive the crucible of Regional Qualifiers. This year, we've merged the Eastern and Western Europe qualifiers into one single European qualifier with four advancement slots. Check out the full schedule below.

China, June 15-18 (2 slots) [expand type=details] Vici Gaming Roar Gaming Yakutou Brothers Team Resilience (+4 teams from Open Qualifiers) [/expand]
South America, June 15-19 (1 slot) [expand type=details] LGD Gaming PlayTime Estar Backs Red Hot Chili Pibble Amaru Gaming Hokori (+4 teams from Open Qualifiers) [/expand]
Southeast Asia, June 19-23 (1 slot) [expand type=details] REKONIX OG Execration Team Nemesis GLYPH (+5 teams from Open Qualifiers) [/expand]
Europe, June 21-28 (4 slots) [expand type=details] TEAM VISION Team Spirit MOUZ Natus Vincere Nigma Galaxy Virtus.pro enjoy Power Rangers (+8 teams from Open Qualifiers) [/expand]
North America, June 24-26 (1 slot) [expand type=details] GamerLegion (+3 teams from Open Qualifiers) [/expand]

Once qualifiers wrap up on June 28, we'll have the full tournament field decided, and the next stop is Shanghai. Group Stage kicks off August 13 - 16 with a three-day, five-round Swiss bracket, followed by five elimination matches played on Sunday. The eight remaining teams bring the competition into the arena August 20 - 23, where the Aegis of Champions awaits.
Original post
07 May 2026PCGamesN
Dota 2 patch 7.41c is awful news for Batrider and Puck, and keeps Roshan under wraps
New Dota 2 7.41c patch notes have arrived to shake up the meta once again, and Valve is bringing some of the most impactful heroes in line with targeted nerfs across the roster. We're still recovering from the grand shakeup of 7.41, which removed Facets from the game altogether,
06 May 2026Developer post
7.41c Gameplay Patch
Patch 7.41c is out now and you can check out the patch notes here . In addition, over the last few days we've addressed the following issues: Fixed illusions not duplicating the correct level of neutral item enchantment Fixed Bloodstone's Bloodpact having a superfluous stack coun
Patch 7.41c is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.
In addition, over the last few days we've addressed the following issues:

Fixed illusions not duplicating the correct level of neutral item enchantment
Fixed Bloodstone's Bloodpact having a superfluous stack counter
Fixed Conjurer's Catalyst getting into a state where it never triggers
Fixed Consecrated Wraps having varying sell cost based on how many charges are active
Fixed Crella's Crozier Rite of Rumusque healing for more than intended when redirecting heal from targets with other sources of health restoration
Fixed Crella's Crozier not working on health regeneration
Fixed Crella's Crozier working on overheals
Fixed Jidi Pollen Bag's tooltip overstating the damage it deals
Fixed Refresher Shard's mana cost not showing on the item icon
Fixed Refresher Orb and Refresher Shard sometimes not sharing a cooldown
Fixed Abaddon's Withering Mist creating particles when a unit dies
Fixed Ancient Apparition's Chilling Touch consuming more mana when triggering Specialist's Array or Hydra's Breath.
Fixed Ancient Apparition's Bone Chill with Aghanim's Scepter not updating to the Scepter values until the Bone Chill per hero level interval was achieved
Fixed Axe's Battle Hunger with Level 10 Talent sometimes permanently granting Axe bonus movement speed
Fixed Bristleback being able to use Quill Spray while channeling if it is on Autocast
Fixed Centaur Warrunner's Hoof Stomp not being treated as an ability cast by other abilities (Pugna's Nether Ward, Silencer's Last Word, etc.)
Fixed Chaos Knight's innate not being duplicated to his illusions
Fixed Clinkz losing health when tread swapping while having bonus health from Death Pact
Fixed Clockwerk's allies sometimes getting stuck inside his cogs
Fixed Dark Willow's Bedlam displaying a cast range
Fixed Dragon Knight gaining flying movement with Aghanim's Scepter before level 4 Dragon Form
Fixed Earth Spirit's Enchant Remnant not being affected by cooldown reduction when cast on a stone remnant.
Fixed Enigma's Eidolons not having +-4 damage spread
Fixed Kazurai Katana being affected by status resistance
Fixed some instances where Kazurai Katana could unexpectedly fail
Fixed Kunkka's Admiral's Rum having the incorrect hangover duration when applied from Kunkka's Ghostship
Fixed Lich's Frost Shield healing Lich's Ice Spire past its max health
Fixed Lone Druid's Spirit Bear counting as a Creep when attacking Undying's Tombstone
Fixed Lone Druid's Inscribed Gem "Entangling Claws Duration" not tracking properly
Fixed Enchanter's Bauble not working on Lone Druid's Spirit Bear
Fixed Lone Druid's Spirit Bear being able to move items to stash while dead by manually dragging items into the stash
Fixed Mars trying to block the ground if targeting his own position with Bulwark
Fixed Mars God's Rebuke not having its targeting reticule match the actual area of effect
Fixed Meepo clones not properly syncing cooldown of multiple copies of the same item
Fixed Meepo clones being able to use Megameepo
Fixed Meepo's Divided We Stand being able to clone Roshan's Banner
Fixed Mirana's Celestial Quiver not appearing in damage breakdowns or appearing to update its damage in regards to spell amplification
Fixed being able to track Monkey King through Changing of the Guard with pings or click commands.
Fixed Muerta's Spectral Slug debuff incorrectly visually appearing to be applying ethereal to debuff immune heroes when they are not ethereal
Fixed Muerta's Supernatural stacks lost upon Death rounding up instead of down
Fixed Outworld Destroyer's Astral Imprisonment hiding a debuff immune hero's health bar
Fixed Phoenix's Dying Light not having increased radius with certain AoE increasing items
Fixed Rubick not gaining Faceless Void's Reverse Time Walk even when he have scepter
Fix Slark's Shadow Dance not displaying the duration of the buff in the buff bar
Fixed Sniper's Headshot not slowing while Take Aim is active
Fixed Sven's Warcry showing a "Warcry Aura" on nearby allies that doesn't do anything when he has Aghanim's Shard
Fixed crash when Tidehunter eats a fish with a completely full inventory
Fix Tidehunter's Leviathan's Catch not working if Tidehunter ate a fish while stunned.
Fixed heroes gaining health after Tinker's laser with Aghanim's Scepter expires
Fixed Treant Protector being able to maintain Nature's Guise invisibility when casting Nature's Guise and leaving the trees in the same frame
(Ability Draft) Fixed Undying being able to refresh Ceaseless Dirge with Tinker's Rearm
Fixed Ursa's Enrage visual effects lingering longer than the ability duration
Fixed Venomancer's Snakebite dealing damage multiple times on triggered attacks
Fixed Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse causing targets with Chipped Vest to damage Winter Wyvern during the curse
Fixed Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse causing all Blade Mails to stop working during the duration of the cast
Fixed Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse not increasing its duration when enemy illusions enter the area or an enemy entered the curse very close to the time it was created
Fixed being able to sometimes use some items during Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse if the duration was extended
Fixed Winter's Curse status labels not updating appropriately if the duration was extended
Fixed Zeus's Nimbus visually showing the incorrect number of pips for how many hero hits it takes to destroy.
Fixed Progressive Refinement not working for SFM
Original post
05 May 2026PCGamesN
Beloved Dota 2 esports team Heroic has just disbanded, saying it's a "tough game to commercialize"
Dota 2 esports is in an odd place. Once the premier sphere, it's been overtaken by the mammoth that is League of Legends - a beast that isn't showing any signs of slowing down. While Dota 2 remains huge in the East, its Western appeal has started to falter over the years, partly
04 May 2026Developer post
The International Team Registration
The International is getting closer. After many years, Dota's ultimate proving ground is returning to China and returning to August, which is now just a few short months away. In preparation, we've updated the registration process for any teams interested in participating in The
01 May 2026PC Gamer
Remember when OpenAI beat humans in Dota 2? Turns out that was partly thanks to when Elon Musk 'personally called [Satya] Nadella' to secure a load of discounted Microsoft computing power
OpenAI is now one of the world's most talked-about companies, and the ongoing legal spat between co-founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman has resulted in some truly juicy revelations around exactly what was going on in the firm's earliest years. One example: it turns out Gabe Newell

Updates & announcements

Until Next Time

Attending The International

Schedule

Meet the Teams

Crimson Witness and Badge Binding

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The On-Site Secret Shop

On-Site Activities

Cosplay Finalists

Watching The International Online

The Online Secret Shop

The International Group Stage

The International Main Event

Tournament Streams

Dota 2 Heroes Around Shanghai

The Secret Shops

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Wrapping Up

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FAQ

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Regional Qualifiers