Mars! What is he good for? Absolutely loads of wars.

Another hero has joined the ranks of Dota 2. He’s a spear-chucking, shield-wielding melee carry who is big into war, because he is literally the god of it. I bet you Legion Commander fancies him.

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I’m not big into numberwang. Vast numbers of people playing a game might indicate that it’s fun, or it might indicate that it’s Ark: Survival Evolved. (I haven’t played Ark and it could be amazing, this is irresponsible journalism and I will hand in my badge and gun shortly.) Point being, it’s more interesting to write about what has made a game popular than the fact that it is so.

Right. Now I have to convince you this animated graph of the most played Steam games from the past four years is fascinating.

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People have been making weird and wonderful custom Dota 2 games for years. With so much good stuff coming from outside the dota-sphere, that’s easy to forget – but not when a possible bug convinces the internet you’ve got more players than Grand Theft Auto V.

That seems have happened with Dota Auto Chess, a custom game where you pit teams of increasingly powerful wizards against seven opponents. Even with that bug in mind, it’s still throbbing with players – popularity made me notice it, but quality kept me playing. For half a game, at least, until I got crushed by the people who knew what they were doing.

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It’s Christmas Frostivus in Dota-land, but Rubick doesn’t care. “Swept up in the zeal of unraveling and reshaping arcane energies” – we’ve all been there – “Grand Magus Rubick marches a mob into Frosthaven, intent on uprooting the original Frostivus tree to explore the mysterious font of power beneath it.” Which means, of course, that five heroes have to defend a Christmas tree in co-op wave survival.

I’ve had a go! It’s better than usual. Mostly because of the bonus round where you get to ride penguins.

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There s part of me that wants to champion Artifact as a step forward for digital card games. I want to celebrate how it bottles the essence of Dota 2 into turn-based take that-ing , to enthuse, misty-eyed, about the new avenues of thought that it has me gallivanting down. I will do all that.

But with some pretty big reservations.

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Valve have banned Dota 2 player Carlo “Kuku” Palad from their upcoming ‘Major’ tournament in China over a racist comment he made mocking Chinese players in a non-tournament game earlier this year. Kuku’s team, TNC Predator, initially tried to pass a cover-up story and have further muddied waters with unsupported claims that Major host city Chongqing’s government threatened to cancel the tournament if he attended. Now Valve have stepped in and accused the Filipino team of behaving unprofessionally and “making the situation much worse than it needed to be.” straight-up banning Kuku from the tournament and docking TNC points on this year’s Dota Pro Circuit.

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Last month, Dota 2 pro player Carlo Kuku Palad caused outrage over racist taunts he made in a non-tournament game. This month, Chongqing’s government – the city where Dota 2’s next big tournament is due to be held in January – have claimed they might cancel the Major if Palad attends.

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Several video games industry associations have reacted to the news that the USA’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are planning to investigate loot boxes over concerns about potential impact on children. America’s Entertainment Software Association (ESA), whose duties include running the E3 games show, have repeated their stance that loot boxes “can enhance the experience” and aren’t gambling and they’re fine okay just leave it. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA), on the other hand, have said it’s time for the industry to step up and self-regulate before more governments follow Belgium and restrict loot boxes by law.

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I’ve already played a little, but I’m not yet sure whether Valve and Richard Garfield’s ‘Dota but cards’ game Artifact is going to consume my every waking thought, or if I’ll bounce off it like hard cheese. One of those two.

I’m about to find out, because it just launched on Steam.

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Several government bodies around the world are continuing to eye loot boxes with suspicion, with yesterday alone bringing news that the USA’s Federal Trade Commission is investigating them and an Australian Senate committee has concluded that the government should take a closer look. No, neither of those steps is close to sparking actual industry-wide changes to exploitative loot boxes, but it’s potentially laying groundwork for legislation to build upon. Or they’ll decide all’s fine. The uncertain promise of the future…!

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