Multiplayer online battle arena

Lore & Background

The MOBA genre originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy (RTS), with most traditional RTS elements removed in favor of a focused player-versus-player experience. The first widely accepted game was Aeon of Strife (AoS), a fan-made custom map for StarCraft with the earliest known version dating to 1998 or 1999, where four players each control a single powerful unit and, aided by weak computer-controlled units, compete against a computer-controlled enemy force. Defense of the Ancients (DotA) was created in 2003 by the Warcraft III modding community for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, with a map based on AoS. DotA was one of the first major titles to establish core MOBA mechanics and directly inspired later games. League of Legends launched in 2009 with 40 playable champions and reached 148 by 2020, hitting 150 in early 2021.

Reader's Guide

The MOBA genre has significantly shaped competitive esports, with major tournaments held in venues holding tens of thousands of spectators and streamed online. By the early 2010s, it had established itself as a major component of the esports landscape. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$60 million, accounting for 40% of total esports prize pools that year. A strong fanbase opened opportunities for sponsorship and advertising, leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon. Gameplay involves two teams, typically five players each, controlling heroes or champions with unique abilities. Players gain experience and gold by defeating enemies, leveling up abilities, and purchasing items. Heroes fall into roles such as tank, damage dealer, and support, emphasizing teamwork and cooperation. The genre rewards players capable of cooperating to execute effective strategies, enabling full potential of individual abilities and mechanical skills.

Did You Know?

• The first widely accepted MOBA was Aeon of Strife (AoS), a fan-made custom map released in 2002 for StarCraft.
• In 2018, MOBA prize pools accounted for 40% of total esports prize pools, reaching over US$60 million.
• League of Legends began with 40 playable heroes and reached 150 by 2020.

A Chronological Framework for a Genre

The decision to arrange multiplayer online battle arena titles in strict chronological order reflects a deliberate editorial choice to present the genre as a living timeline rather than a static catalog. By placing each entry in sequence according to its release date, the list implicitly narrates the evolution of the MOBA format—from its earliest iterations to its most recent entries. Readers can trace how the genre has expanded, contracted, or shifted in emphasis over time simply by following the order of entries. This temporal structure also makes it straightforward to identify which titles opened new doors and which followed established patterns, even without additional commentary. The chronological approach treats the genre's history as a continuous thread, suggesting that each new release exists in dialogue with what came before it. For scholars, journalists, or curious players seeking to understand how the MOBA space developed, this ordering provides an intuitive scaffold upon which broader cultural and technological narratives can be layered.

The Dimensions of a Game's Identity

Each entry in the list is expected to carry a specific set of identifying details: the date of release, the developer responsible, the platform on which the game runs, the setting or world in which it takes place, and a note on its notability. Together, these five data points form a compact profile that distinguishes one MOBA title from another without requiring lengthy prose. The inclusion of platform information acknowledges that the genre has crossed hardware boundaries, while the setting field highlights the creative diversity of fictional worlds that developers have built around the core battle-arena formula. Notability, positioned as the final attribute, signals that the list does not merely catalogue every title that has ever used the MOBA label but rather flags those entries that earned particular recognition. The developer field, meanwhile, grounds each game in the studio or team that shaped its design, reminding readers that behind every entry stands a specific creative and technical effort.

Curation and the Question of Availability

A notable editorial choice in the list is the qualifier that information is provided only when available. This single phrase acknowledges a practical reality: not every multiplayer online battle arena title has a fully documented record of its developer, platform, setting, or degree of notability. Some entries may lack one or more of these fields, reflecting gaps in public documentation, the obscurity of certain studios, or the sheer volume of titles that have entered the genre over the years. The list thus functions not as an exhaustive, perfectly uniform table but as a best-effort compilation that grows and refines as more information surfaces. This approach also implicitly respects the diversity of the genre's ecosystem, where a major studio's well-publicized release sits alongside a smaller, less-documented project. By making the conditional nature of the data explicit, the list avoids presenting incomplete entries as if they were definitive, preserving intellectual honesty while still offering a useful reference for anyone exploring the MOBA landscape.

A Genre Earns Its Own Shelf

The very existence of a dedicated, standalone list for multiplayer online battle arena games speaks to the genre's establishment as a recognized and distinct category within the broader video game landscape. Rather than being scattered across general gaming lists or buried within broader action or strategy categories, MOBA titles now occupy their own curated space, sorted and documented as a coherent family of games. This editorial recognition implies that the genre has accumulated enough titles, enough cultural weight, and enough structural commonality to warrant its own reference document. The list serves as both a mirror and a marker: it reflects how many developers have chosen to build within the MOBA framework, and it marks the genre as a point of reference for players, critics, and industry observers alike. In a medium where new subgenres emerge and dissolve with rapid frequency, the decision to maintain a dedicated chronological catalogue signals that the multiplayer online battle arena format has secured a durable place in gaming history.