It’s now been 365 days since Kez, the latest Dota 2 hero, was released in-game.
Kez was released alongside the final act of Crownfall on Nov. 7, 2024. Now a year later, Kez has made it into Captains draft, Crownfall is a distant memory, and no new hero has been released.
Kez, or Kestrel, to give him his full name, is the last of the Kazurai, and wields a formidable set of weapons including his Shodo Sai and Kazurai Katana. With eight abilities across two stances, he’s one of the more complex heroes in Dota 2.
The 126th hero in the game, Kez (whose name we have always suspected, but could never prove, is reference to 1969 British ‘kitchen sink realism’ film Kes) has yet to have a successor. Dota 2 isn’t exactly lightning quick with its hero releases, and has slowed down considerably as it broaches its second decade, with the average hero release now just one a year.
Kez. Image Credit: Valve
Still, the signs are there that a new hero is on the way. There was the ARG at TI14, which led to… nothing. In fact the lack of a hero release or announcement at TI meant that many fans were incredibly disappointed. After all, Valve often slips into these traditions, only to fall out of them after a few missed deadlines.
It’s the missed deadlines that seem to be the most likely cause of the lack of a hero not being revealed just yet. A popular theory is that the heroes reveal cinematic just wasn’t completed yet. And Valve, for all the complaints players have, could never level the accusation that they do things by the half when it comes to big cinematics. Remember the Crownfall ending? Or any hero revealed in the past decade?
So, yes. It’s been a year. Honestly, we could make it until the end of 2025 without a new Dota 2 hero, which would be a huge shame, especially with the games playerbase expanding for the first time in years, back towards a million for the first time since 2022.
Featured Image Credit: Valve
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