Even Gabe Newell Himself Gets Regulartly Trash-Talked in Dota 2

Ah, the Dota 2 community – one of the few remaining examples of what video game lobbies were like back in the day, before developers started monitoring every word you say and type in chat, where flaming and trash-talking your opponents – and teammates, of course – was just a part of the game, and calling someone a "noob" didn't get you permanently banned.

Even Gabe Newell, Valve's boss and by extension Dota 2's, isn't immune, as he himself revealed during The International 2025 opening ceremony, saying that he regularly plays the game and loves its community, despite it being rowdy and unruly compared to most modern multiplayer games.

As stated by Gaben, he still plays Dota 2 every day, and much like 99.9% of its players, he regularly gets roasted there. "People talk sh*t at me in chat, and about once a week, people say, 'Hey noob, uninstall the game and *bleep*,'" Newell revealed. Despite that – or maybe because of it – he says that he adores the game's community, citing the players' energy and enthusiasm for Dota 2 as the main contributing factors.

Newell also reminisced about the first TI competition back in 2011, describing it as "awesome." "It was awesome to see the skill of the players and the enthusiasm of the community. Before that first International, I really enjoyed the game, but after The International, I loved the game."

Speaking of The International, we recently spoke with the creators of the viral Dota 2 cinematic KINO, created for TI 2025 Short Film Contest, about the production process behind the project, character animation, post-production, and more. The interview is going live within the next few days, so be sure to subscribe to 80 Level's YouTube channel so you don't miss it.

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