Today marks 13 years since Dota 2 emerged from beta testing.

Exactly 13 years ago, on July 9, 2013, Valve announced the official release of Dota 2 on Steam.

Dota 2 was first unveiled to the public at Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, Germany. The first The International was also held there; its prize pool of 1,600,000 million dollars—a record at the time—brought esports from computer clubs to the big stage, and immediately following the announcement, invitations to the beta test for the new game began to be distributed, concluding on July 9, 2013, with the official release on Steam.

Three years ago, to celebrate the game’s tenth anniversary, Valve launched an in-game event in which it gave players a seasonal reward for the Reaper, as well as a unique skin for Mirana, inspired by the character’s appearance in the DOTA comic book *Blood of the Dragon*.

Photo: Valve.