Dota 2 Steam Rating: What «Very Positive» Means

18 August 2026 · 5 min read

GameMapa editorial · how we check facts
Checked: Claude (AI) — fact-checked against the Ukrainian original; not proofread by a native speaker

Dota 2’s Steam rating as of the measurement date is «Very Positive», which on Steam’s own numeric scale from 0 to 9 corresponds to the number 8.

Steam bases that verdict on 2,757,356 reviews left across all languages and all purchase types: 2,221,861 positive and 535,495 negative. The share of positive reviews among them is 80.6%. Every number in this article is a snapshot taken on a specific measurement date, not a fixed value: Steam updates the count every time a new review comes in, so the figures on the Steam page naturally move over time and may differ from what’s listed here.

What the label «Very Positive» means

«Very Positive» isn’t an editorial score from a journalist or a publication — it’s the official word label Steam attaches to the summed-up votes of everyone who left a review on the game’s page. Alongside that word label, Steam also publishes the same verdict as a number — 8 on its own 0-to-9 scale. Both the word label and the number refer to the same summary and the same measurement date.

Dota 2’s official Steam page and the game’s official site (the sources for this article) don’t explain the exact formula by which a positive share turns into the word «Very Positive» specifically, rather than some other category. So this article only states what we can confirm: on this particular snapshot, the two figures — the label and the numbers — line up, and we’re not adding any guesses about the conversion formula itself.

Why the positive share matters more than the raw count

2,221,861 positive reviews is a large number on its own, and it’s tempting to treat it as the main proof of quality. But a raw count builds up over years and depends on how many people have ever written a review across the game’s whole history, not just on how the game is received right now. The share — 80.6% positive out of 2,757,356 total — is a ratio that strips out that accumulation effect: it shows the balance of opinion among everyone who voted, regardless of how long the review system has been running.

It’s the share, not a raw tally of positive votes, that sits next to the «Very Positive» label on the Steam page. That’s why, when reading any Steam rating — not just Dota 2’s — it’s worth looking at the percentage first and the total vote count second.

Why a low rating doesn’t always mean a bad game

A Steam rating summarizes opinions from people who chose to write a review, not a direct measurement of technical quality. For Dota 2 specifically, that summary is «Very Positive», so a low rating isn’t the issue here. But the general principle holds for any game: the label and the percentage describe the balance of votes on the measurement date — they don’t explain why people voted the way they did. The motives behind individual negative reviews — technical issues, disagreement with a developer decision, one player’s personal experience, or something else — aren’t disclosed in official sources, and adding such explanations ourselves would mean inventing what isn’t in the checked materials.

Full review summary as of the measurement date

Steam calculates these figures across reviews in all languages and all purchase types — these are the officially stated parameters the page uses when it issues the summary. In other words, the total includes reviews regardless of the language they’re written in or how the game was purchased; the page doesn’t show a separate breakdown by either parameter.

If you’re deciding whether to start playing and using this rating as a reference point, it’s worth also checking the official rundown of first steps — your first hour in Dota 2 — and the list of available modes — Dota 2 game modes. Both pieces follow the same principle: verified official facts only, no guesswork.

What is not officially stated

• The reasons behind specific waves of negative reviews. Steam publishes aggregate numbers, not the motives of each person who voted negative.
• The formula converting positive share into the word label. The pages we checked don’t give an exact rule for why 80.6% specifically produces the «Very Positive» label rather than a different one.
• A separate breakdown of reviews by language or purchase type. The page shows a single combined summary across these parameters, without a per-parameter split.
• How the rating has moved over time. Whether the positive share was rising or falling before the measurement date isn’t stated in the sources; we only have one snapshot on a specific date.

How to check these numbers yourself

1. Open Dota 2’s official page on Steam.
2. Find the review summary block and check the current numbers — they may differ from the ones here, since they shift with every new review.
3. Compare the word label and the positive share the way this article does, rather than judging by the raw vote count alone.

In short

As of the measurement date, Dota 2 held a «Very Positive» rating on Steam (8 on a 0–9 scale) based on 2,757,356 reviews, of which 80.6% were positive. That’s a snapshot of a specific moment, calculated across all languages and purchase types — not a fixed number and not an explanation of what motivated individual reviews.