Netflix is at it again, with another popular game being adapted and an anime series being created by the OTT giant. This time however, they both are happening simultaneously to one extremely popular MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena) game – Defense Against The Ancients or DOTA for short. The 8 episode anime series which will premiere for the first time on the streaming conglomerate next month, has been titled DOTA: Dragon’s Blood.
DOTA started out as a popular fan-made MOBA mod (modification) which was made for the popular strategy game, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion pack Frozen Throne, back in 2013. It got its first standalone installment, Dota 2 in 2013 which was developed by Valve and released on their game distribution platform, Steam. The popularity of the game has only skyrocketed, with the records set by Valve’s main tournament (called The International) prize pool being astronomical.
It will be interesting to see the DOTA anime – DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. The web series seems to be based on one of the “heroes” in the game called Dragon Knight. Davion, the name of the renowned knight has devoted his life to wiping out the scourge from the world. He encounters a powerful and ancient eldwurm and runs into a noble princess, Mirana (another “hero” from the game) who is on a mission of her own.
In the game, the character of Dragon Knight can change into a dragon, so hopefully this series will give us the origins of his power. And with over a hundred heroes, Valve and Netflix can create a mini-series which will be about the lore of each and every hero, and can select each hero based on its popularity. With the game having an active 11 million players playing the game regularly every month, we expect this new animated series to kick off well – both in India and around the globe.
DOTA is a game played by two teams of 5 players each. Both teams play on one large map, with the two teams spawning on the two opposite ends of the map. The objective of the game is for these players to choose a hero from a pool of 100 (each hero cannot be chosen by more than one person), make their way to the other end of the map and destroy a large structure called The Ancient. The team which does this first wins. There are other intricate in-game mechanics such as buying items, selecting counters for heroes chosen, farming, three lane system, etc. But this is the gist of the game. Many players and commentators have called the game a cross between chess, paintball, third person shooting and strategy games, calling it one of the hardest games to learn in a set time period.
DOTA has gone on to become one of the biggest games in the world. The International – the biggest DOTA tournament regularly sets and breaks their own records, especially the biggest prize pool for an online game. Back in 2019, The International had the biggest prize pool to date, which was close to USD 35 million. The 2020 edition of The International was supposed to beat that but the coronavirus pandemic cancelled the whole tournament.
DOTA: Dragon’s Blood will premiere on Netflix on March 25th 2021. Check out the teaser trailer down below:
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