Dota 2 is sitting on the precipice of an average player count on Steam that will mark a new five-year low, and fans are rightfully a little concerned about the game's flagging popularity on its own platform - but it's not quite time to panic yet. Dota 2 is Valve's immensely popular Steam MOBA that rivals League of Legends for popularity on a good day, and remains a top-tier esport even when Riot Games' title is dominating discussion, like it is now for its World Championships 2019.

Dota 2 just wrapped up the biggest esports tournament in history (in terms of prizing, anyways) this summer, where it's The International 9 wrapped up with an historic win for OG, the first-ever two-time champions of the event. The team repeated with the exact same squad it hoisted the TI8 trophy with, dispelling any doubters who thought the group's Cinderella run at the previous year's tournament was a fluke. The win made instant millionaires of each member of the team and catapulted the five-man squad to the top of the lifetime esports earnings charts, even awarding a bigger purse than some major tennis and golf tournaments did in 2019.

Related: Esports Tournament Champs Earned More Than Wimbeldon & Masters Winners This Year

Since then, however, there has been a notable lull in activity in the Dota 2 scene, something that has apparently translated into some truly abysmal average player count numbers for the game. Since the end of TI9, September and October have both shown drastic drop offs in player count, recording drops of -9.67% and -6.60% in average players respectively. That brings the game in line with the average player count it had in January 2014, well before it exploded in terms of both prize pool amounts and popularity. Here's a glimpse at how the game has been performing, courtesy of Steam Charts:

Dota 2 Average Player Count Numbers 2019

With that said, however, there are a number of reasons that players and fans shouldn't worry just yet about the state of Dota 2 average player counts. First, the relatively low-stakes nature of the Dota 2 competitive scene in recent months will finally ramp up again when the Dota Pro Circuit gets back into the swing of things, luring many of the top teams out of their slumber. A lot of pro teams don't play the smaller tournaments in between The International and the first Major, since it's pretty much the only opportunity players get for vacations during the season, so that should spark more interest in the game. It's also not a new low for Dota 2, which frequently sees swings in average player count based on a number of factors but tends to bounce back.

Still, though, with League of Legends and its spin-off Teamfight Tactics enjoying surges in popularity - contrasting Dota 2 and Dota Underlords respectively - there's probably reason to be a little concerned by the figures. That's to say nothing of Legends of Runeterra, another property that will likely further cement Riot's MOBA as the superior product, given the current standing of Artifact. There's no reason to panic just yet, but Valve may be enticed into shaking up the Dota 2 meta before its Pro Circuit season truly begins, or do something else that grabs headlines - just in case.

Next: Dota Underlords Once Again Proves Valve Can't Make New Games

Dota 2 is available now on Steam.

Source: Steam Charts (via VP Esports)