The December average online count was the best for Dota 2 since 2016. The game came closest to these numbers in March 2019, when the average online count was 586 thousand. A higher result was last recorded in October 2016—when the figure reached 639 thousand users.
The audience growth occurred at the end of the year and was accompanied by increased player activity throughout the month. The peak online count in December 2025 exceeded 900 thousand people, which also became one of the highest figures in recent years.
The surge of interest in the game coincided with the release of a major update. On December 16, patch 7.40 was released for Dota 2, in which developers changed the balance of heroes and items, reworked landscape elements, and added a new character, Largo. Some time later, Valve released an additional update 7.40b aimed at further balance adjustments.
