‘Dota 2’ becomes first game to run on Source 2 engine

“Defense of the Ancients 2,” or “Dota 2,” is currently one of Valve’s most successful games. Its success allowed it to reach new heights with million-dollar tournaments. “Dota 2” has been running on the original Source engine, but a new update changes things up a bit as “Dota 2” once again exits beta mode.

Valve recently updated “Dota 2”, and now it would officially run on the Source 2 engine. “Dota 2” is Valve’s first-ever game to run on the said engine. IGN reports that the game and its core gameplay will remain the same after the update, but players could expect a massive overhaul to the user interface, or UI. Aside from that, the new “Dota 2” will also get new features like a Test Hero mode and custom games.

The impending upgrade was first seen in June as “Dota Reborn.” Back then, the game was a separate program on the Steam app. At launch, the game boasted minor graphical upgrades as well as the option to play custom games which some players have created themselves. The custom games option saw the return of beloved “Warcraft III” classics such as “Pudge Wars.” Another new feature was seen in action at this year’s The International competition as two teams of 10 battled it out in a game of “Dota 2.”

The first-ever 10v10 battle seen in the video below was held at the All-Star battle in The International. The match saw 20 different heroes instead of the usual 10 on the map. The result was a chaotic match in which players had to adjust due to the EXP and Gold changes brought about by the massive battle.

The massive number of heroes in the map causes the EXP and Gold to distribute in smaller amounts. This means that each hero will take a lot longer to get stronger, and that the team will solely have to rely on each other at the beginning of the match.

Source 2 engine was first revealed by Valve at Game Developers Conference, or GDC, 2015. Valve made the Source 2 engine free for content developers, meaning they could do whatever they want in it. In the case of “Dota 2,” players can have their test drive on creating maps of their own.

The previous Source engine was revealed back in 2004, and it rolled along with “Counter-Strike: Source.” Since then, Valve has been using the engine for titles such as “Half-Life 2,” and more recent games like “Dota 2.”