If you’re a Dota 2 player who uses an older 32-bit system, you would possibly want to organize to upgrade your machine. During a massive update covering details about The International 2021, Valve also revealed that it’s getting to end Dota 2 support for older machines. That doesn’t just stop at 32-bit systems, but also older versions of macOS and DirectX too.
The news was packed alongside updates about The International ticket sales – confirmation that the most event will still be happening live and in-person in Romania – new details about The International Compendium, and a few information about changes coming to the spectator HUD. It’s an extended post, and if you’re a Dota fan looking forward to The International, it’s well worth a full read-through.
At the top of that article, Valve said it’s time to maneuver Dota forward from a technology standpoint. “As Dota has grown and expanded over the years, so has the technology that powers it — both hardware and software,” Valve wrote. “To stay the game and therefore the Source 2 engine fresh, we’re planning on removing support for a few older systems and configurations.”
While noting that nothing is changing today, Valve said it’ll drop support for 32-bit machines and operating systems within the coming months, meaning you’ll need a 64-bit system and OS to run the game. Also disappearing is support for macOS versions below 10.14, DirectX 9, OpenGL, and XAudio. Those on DirectX 9 will need to upgrade to DirectX 11, while those using OpenGL will transition to Vulkan, and people using XAudio will switch to SDL Audio.
Of course, a crucial thing to keep in mind is that this update means nothing for many players, with Valve remarking that most machines already support these newer technologies. “Removing these older technologies will allow us to streamline our development efforts also as using the newer features of those APIs to supply a good better Dota experience,” Valve added.
Sadly, Valve didn’t say precisely when support for these older machines and technologies would be a departure, but we’ll keep an ear to the bottom for more, and we’ll allow you to know when Valve announces new details.
