Dota 2 anime DOTA: Dragon's Blood revealed by Netflix

Fans have long clamored for more Dota 2-themed content and they’re getting it from a very surprising source.

Valve has officially announced that a Dota 2 anime is coming in the very near future. The series will air on Netflix and is entitled DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. A trailer was released on the official Netflix YouTube channel:

“We're excited to announce a brand-new anime series exploring the Dota universe like never before. As fellow fans of Dota and its passionate global community, we look forward to sharing this new adventure with you,” Valve said on Twitter.

As one would expect based on the title, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood is based on transforming tank Dragon Knight. The trailer shows a young knight on horseback with what appears to be a squire. A voice asks “what are you called?” in the background, with the character responding, “Davion, dragon knight.”

Davion is then shown charging down a hill to fight a giant reptilian monster that is attacking a group of people. Given the character’s relative youth compared to the in-game hero, this will likely shape up to be an origin story for Dragon Knight.

What will happen in DOTA: Dragon’s Blood?

Dragon Knight’s origin story revolves around Davion’s pursuit of the eldwurm Slyrak. After years of tracking and searching for the beast, he is disappointed to find that Slyrak is aged, weak, and dying. Though Davion was prepared to leave in disappointment, Slyrak asks him for a death in combat.

The two mortally wound one another, which results in the two beings fusing into one. Though Davion walks away, he has the power and knowledge of an ancient dragon.

DOTA: Dragon’s Blood follows those events, and will also feature other characters. Wykrhm Reddy revealed the release date for the full trailer on Twitter and noted that Dragon Knight will be joined by Mirana and they will "face demons and gods with unexpected allies."

When will DOTA: Dragon’s Blood premier?

Netflix confirmed that DOTA: Dragon’s Blood will premier on March 25. Rather than releasing weekly episodic episodes, Netflix typically releases an entire season of content at once. It’s likely that this will be the case with DOTA: Dragon’s Blood as well, but this was not confirmed.