Dota 2 is unequivocally one of the biggest eSports games, both currently and since eSports became a thing. Players have won over $220 million in prize money since the game’s release in 2013. Everyone from viewers to casual players to established Dota 2 teams rely on reams of data that analyze matches, heroes, and players. Having Dota 2 eSports API data offers an incredible competitive advantage, especially if that data is streamlined in exactly the way you want it.
Is There a Dota 2 API?
The simple answer here is yes. As with most other companies that develop competitive games, Valve has a free API available to developers. The API can be used to establish over 20 different data calls.
Aside from accessing the API from Valve, you can also download and use the Dota 2 API from OpenDota.com. This is an open-source, community-built effort to help the Dota 2 players who may not have the requisite programming experience to get the full benefit of Valve’s API.
You may find you need far more analytics than what the OpenDota platform provides. Flixed offers an API for Dota 2 and other eSports that leverages Dota 2 data to craft customized analytics of every detail available through the Valve Dota 2 API. You can get advanced, visualized details of players, teams, heroes, the ever-changing item economy, and more.
Learn more about the Flixed eSports API.
What Can Developers Do with the Dota 2 API?
Valve’s Dota 2 API gives you access to a wealth of in-game data, including:
- Lists of DotaTV-supported leagues
- A list of in-progress league matches and current data for those matches
- Data on specific matches
- A list of matches with adjustable parameters
- Upcoming, scheduled league matches
- Individual player stats
- Dota 2 in-game economy data, such as items and item rarity, heroes, and tournament prize pools
There’s more, of course. With Dota 2, the API is uniquely focused on information. Whereas some online game APIs offer in-game manipulation (for example, Destiny’s API allows for transferring items from storage or across characters), Dota 2’s API is designed to be parsed and analyzed for entertainment, instructional, or strategic planning purposes.
Apps That Use the Dota 2 API
Valve introduced the Dota 2 API several years ago. There have been small updates here and there, but the core of the API has remained the same, allowing app developers to go nuts creating apps to enhance the player experience.
The most popular Dota 2 apps that utilize the data-focused Dota 2 API include:
- Dota Plus: The official (subscription-based) app from Valve for Dota 2 players
- Dota Buff: Uses machine learning algorithms to help give you better insights into your drafts
- Dota Coach: Utilizes data to offer recommendations to improve your gameplay.
Most Dota 2 apps are focused on players who have at least a bit of understanding of the game. If you’re a true beginning and you need to know more before you can get the most out of these apps, you may want to check out a beginner’s guide to drafting.
How Do I Use Dota 2 eSports APIs?
To build your own Dota 2 apps straight from the source, you’ll need to get an API key through Steam. Dota doesn’t offer its API directly from its website, but as long as you have a Steam account, you can sign in and get a free Steam Web API key that allows you to access API data from a large number of games hosted on steam, including Dota 2. As with all APIs, there are limits, including a limit of 100,000 calls per day and one request per second. You can get more information on creating and using the Dota 2 API in its developer forum.
Sam Cook is a full-time content strategist by day, a part-time freelance content writer since 2015. In another life, he was a high school English teacher for nearly a decade. Based in sunny New Orleans, he writes long-form educational content on technology, including Insurtech, Fintech, HRtech, and content streaming. He loves whittling down complex ideas within these areas that make decisions easier for buyers. When he’s not reading books with his son Miles and playing video games with the family, you can find him immersed in his growing collection of Euro-style board games.
