In a surprising move, Netflix has revealed that it is collaborating with Valve to produce an animated series. However, this will not be based on Valve works like Half-Life or Portal, instead, the studio"s multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) Dota 2 is the universe that the show will be set in.
Titled DOTA: Dragon"s Blood, the fantasy anime series will debut on Netflix starting on March 25. The eight-episode series is being animated by Studio Mir, the Korean animation studio that has previously produced Legend of Korra as well as other Netflix series like Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Here"s how Netflix described the setting of the show, which should contain some familiar names for Dota 2 fans:
The upcoming fantasy series tells the story of Davion, a renowned Dragon Knight devoted to wiping the scourge from the face of the world. Following encounters with a powerful, ancient eldwurm as well as the noble Princess Mirana on a secret mission of her own, Davion becomes embroiled in events much larger than he could have ever imagined.
“Fans will love how we’ve imagined the Dota 2 universe and woven together an epic, emotional, and adult-oriented story about some of their favorite characters,” said showrunner and executive producer Ashley Edward Miller, who has previously written for Fringe, Thor, X-Men: First Class, Andromeda, and Black Sails, among others.
This is certainly an interesting development for the MOBA franchise that originally began as a modded game mode for Warcraft III before spinning off into a genre of its own with multiple games appearing from various studios. Also, this is not the only animated series that has spawned out of a MOBA title either, as League of Legends maker Riot is producing a show based on its own universe named Arcane.