Dota 2 is the leading wealth generator in the e-sports world

Valve's Dota 2 has been around for over a decade now, and it's amazing to see that what started as a community-created mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is now the most profitable title for professional players. This is not an assumption, because numbers don't lie: 21 out of the top 35 esports millionaires earned their wealth thanks to Dota 2, and this year's prize pool exceeded $21 million.

According to a report based on data from Esports Earnings that was compiled by the Indian skill-gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL), Dota 2 is the title to rule them all when it comes to competitive gaming. When talking about the wealth generation capabilities, the second-ranked is Call of Duty, with just 5 millionaires. Moving to this year's prize pool, the second place goes to Counter-Strike, with roughly $18 million. However, there are almost 300 tournaments involved in this case, compared to Dota 2's 75.

Other interesting rankings reveal that Rocket League has the highest player count (almost 4,000) while only ranking 10th in terms of prizes, slightly below the $6 million threshold. This year's esports country rankings place China in first position, with over $23.4 million for 1,407 players, while the United States gets second place, with almost $19.8 million, but a total of 3,016 players. The next two positions are very close, with $9.948 million and 792 players (Korea) and $9.709 million and 723 players (Russian Federation).

In addition to being so lucrative for professional players, Dota 2 was used in machine learning experiments. The bot team OpenAI Five surfaced back in 2017, and, in 2019, it won 99.4% of the 42,729 public games that took place during a four-day online event open for everyone. During the same year, the OpenAI Five bot team has managed to defeat the reigning champions from team OG.

Dota 2 fans can grab the 6-inch-tall Good Smile Anti-Mage Figma Action Figure off Amazon for $54.91.