(Credit: Tharon Green/Image Composite; Dota 2/League of Legends)
Editors' Note, December 10, 2025: With this update, our lineup of recommended MOBA games remains unchanged. The existing picks have been vetted for currency and availability.
You never know when gaming's next big trend will emerge, a lesson we've learned many times while covering games at PCMag for more than 20 years. The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre originated as fan-made mods for Blizzard's traditional real-time strategy games. These days, MOBAs are a hugely popular genre with some of the most attended esports circuits in the video game field. Describing MOBAs to someone unfamiliar with the genre can be somewhat challenging. To get reductive, they involve two teams of players trying to destroy each other’s bases. The characters possess a range of skills and other unique, strategic elements, including guiding computer-controlled minions and utilizing towers as defensive chokepoints. The learning curve is steep, but the rewards are worth it. Read on to learn about the best MOBA games that deserve a place in your PC game library.
Dota 2
The phrase "easy to learn, hard to master" is commonly heard in gaming circles, but few titles exemplify the idea more than Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2). This free-to-play MOBA game tasks you with selecting one of 126 playable heroes to take to the battlefield, utilizing the character's unique abilities, play style, and attributes to help your team achieve victory. Dota 2 lacks Smite's numerous unique play modes, but it remains one of the best and most balanced MOBAs.
League of Legends
League of Legends' gameplay incorporates elements of role-playing, tower defense, and real-time strategy—a combination that differentiates it from the many cookie-cutter MOBAs flooding the market. More importantly, the 170+ playable characters (known as Champions) exhibit a deep level of variation, making your squad unique from those of your competition. And, best of all, it's free to play, so there's little reason not to give it a download.
Smite
If you've ever dreamed of being a powerful god who battles other gods, check out the free-to-play Smite. The action-focused MOBA puts you in the role of a deity chosen from among the Chinese, Greek, Egyptian, Hindu, Japanese, Mayan, Norse, and Roman pantheons in a war for godly supremacy. Smite is an excellent, fast-paced game with numerous game modes and an ever-expanding character roster (it currently sits at 130). Developer Titan Forge Games released a sequel, Smite 2, in early 2025, which will likely replace this game once we test it.
