On 5th August, five expert Dota 2 players sat down to play against a team of bots created by non-profit research lab OpenAI. They lost decisively. Just a few days from now that same team of bots, perhaps with the benefit of a few more weeks of training, will appear on stage at the biggest tournament in Dota 2 – The International – and play against a team of the world’s best professional players. Winning there that would be a huge victory, a milestone for both AI and the games industry, and after seeing the bots’ performance earlier this month it seems like the most likely outcome. You might be forgiven for feeling like this was the end of an era for game AI as we know it.
It all feels a bit sudden, too. At last year’s International tournament OpenAI were a surprise appearance, turning up to show off their bot that could play 1v1 Mid – a simpler custom game mode for two players – and beat top professionals. It was an impressive display, but it also felt like the kind of game an AI would be naturally good at. It was simple, short, with very clear goals and a lot of emphasis on reaction time. The real challenge, everyone pointed out, would be playing the full game.
OpenAI’s bots don’t play the full game quite yet, but less than 12 months later they are surprisingly close, far closer than myself or many of my peers would have guessed they’d be this time last year. With a few notable game mechanics disabled, and only 18 of the 115 heroes available to play, the bots nevertheless exhibit precise calculation, aggressive fighting styles and an unstoppable sense of momentum. When they’re not exhibiting superhuman skill, they’re throwing out decade-old Dota 2 conventions and finding new ways to play heroes, distribute resources and take objectives.
Source: Eurogamer A team of Dota 2-playing AI bots beat the pros – and now they're gunning for more