Netflix drops trailer for DOTA: Dragon's Blood, anime series based on popular DOTA 2 MOBA game

By the power of Slyrak, a hero is born.

In news that will send chills down gamers' spines and their mana points off the charts, Netflix has announced plans to premiere DOTA: Dragon's Blood, an all new anime fantasy series inspired by DOTA 2, the monster hit video game from Valve.

DOTA: Dragon's Blood, which will launch globally on the streaming giant Mar. 25, is an 8-episode 'toon centered around Davion, a renowned Dragon Knight whose mission is wiping the scourge of the dragon from the face of the world. Following encounters with a powerful, ancient eldwurm, as well as the noble Princess Mirana on a secret mission of her own, Davion becomes embroiled in events much larger than he could have ever imagined.

But Davion has a secret weapon: for according to DOTA 2 lore, he's mixed his blood with that of his age-old foe, the ancient, ailing dragon Slyrak, acquiring the creature's power. And by the look of the teaser Netflix dropped today, it's clear some dark adventures lie ahead for our sword-wielding dragonslayer, not unlike those faced by his progenitors in DOTA 2.

"Fans will love how we’ve imagined the DOTA 2 universe and woven together an epic, emotional, and adult-oriented story about some of their favorite characters," said showrunner and executive producer Ashley Edward Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor) in a press release. "The cinematic animation, acting and music are simply next level and I’m grateful to Valve for supporting our creative ambitions."

Animation on DOTA: Dragon's Blood is by Studio MIR, the South Korean company responsible for such popular Netflix anime series as Voltron: Legendary Defender and LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale, as well as DC Entertainment's Young Justice: Outsiders, Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra, and Netflix's recently announced anime spinoff flick, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. 

DOTA 2, which debuted in 2013, is hailed as one of the greatest titles in the ever popular genre of MOBA – that is, multiplayer online battle arena games. The game regularly plays host to millions of players daily and has become a major draw in the e-sports circuit, where it has set numerous tournament records for prize earnings. There's even a DOTA 2 Championship which has doled out over $150 million to various winning teams.

The game is also a sequel to Defense of the Ancients, a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion pack, The Frozone Throne.

DOTA: Dragon's Blood lands at Netflix on Mar. 25.