Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)[a] is a subgenre of strategy video games in which each player controls a single character as part of a team competing against another team of players, usually on a battlefield shown from an isometric perspective. The ultimate objective is to destroy opposing team's main structure with the assistance of periodically-spawnedcomputer-controlled units that march forward along set paths. However, MOBA games can have other victory conditions, such as defeating every player on the enemy team. Player characters typically have a set of unique abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy.[1] This type of multiplayeronline video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy, though MOBA players usually do not construct buildings or units. Moreover, there are examples of MOBA games that are not considered real-time strategy games, such as Smite (2014), and Paragon.[b] The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy, role-playing, and action games.
The first widely accepted game in the genre was Aeon of Strife (AoS), a fan-made custom map for StarCraft in which four players each control a single powerful unit and, aided by weak computer-controlled units, compete against a stronger computer.[2][3] Defense of the Ancients (DotA) was created in 2003 by Warcraft III modding community for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, with a map based on AoS. DotAwas one of the first major titles of its genre and the first MOBA for which sponsored tournaments were held.[4][5] It was followed by two spiritual successors, League of Legends(2009) and Heroes of Newerth (2010), a standalone sequel, Dota 2 (2013), as well as numerous other games in the genre, such as Heroes of the Storm (2015).[6][7]
By the early 2010s, the genre has become a big part of the esports category. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon.