Dota 2 overtakes League of Legends as most-played PC game

Dota 2 has surpassed League of Legends as the most-played core PC title in North America and Europe, according to a report from market research firm DFC.

The report comes from the DFC Intelligence PC Game Meter service, which takes real-time stats from multiple sources which cover 23 million users. Dota 2 was shown to be the strongest PC title, with LoL following behind, and Blizzard’s World of Warcraft trailing in the number 3 spot.

“Usage of League of Legends has been steady the past year and surprisingly the huge success of Dota 2 did not seem to cut into its popularity as much as would be expected,” said DFC analyst Jeremy Miller.

Over the last quarter, PC game usage for the top 20 games has been up 22 percent, significantly higher than 2012’s stats.

“The past year has seen numerous blockbuster PC games that have really helped drive usage. This includes among others Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, Battlefield 3, Minecraft, World of Tanks and Valve’s Counter-Strike series,” added DFC analyst David Cole.