IceFrog

IceFrog is the lead developer for both Dota 2 and the original Defense of the Ancients. To date, he has remained pseudonymous, and other than revealing that he was 25 years old in early 2009, characteristics such as his physical description and real name are unknown. IceFrog speaks English and Chinese, which he learned in order to better communicate with Dota's large fanbase in China.

Defense of the Ancients
IceFrog officially began his involvement with Defense of the Ancients in 2005, when he was recruited by Guinsoo--the mod's lead developer at the time--to assist with programming. Later that year, Guinsoo left the project and passed the lead developer position to Neichus, who continued to develop with IceFrog. Neichus' departure a short time later left IceFrog as the sole designer for the map. Since then, IceFrog has ushered in an era of competitive play by carefully balancing and renovating the game.

In 2009, a dispute arose between IceFrog and Pendragon, the maintainer of the de facto community hub DotA-Allstars.com. Pendragon, who had recently been hired by League of Legends developer Riot Games, was charged with using the site to promote his company's upcoming product, while IceFrog was accused of developing the game Heroes of Newerth with S2 Games. DotA-Allstars.com was taken offline (along with all of its contents), and IceFrog and the rest of the community were forced to relocate to the newly-created PlayDotA.com.

Also in 2009, IceFrog was contacted by Valve, who had become interested in Defense of the Ancients and its future. After receiving a tour of their offices, IceFrog was hired and began work on Dota 2.

Abdul Ismail Rumor
A persisting rumor is that IceFrog's real name is "Abdul Ismail". In late 2010, an anonymous person posted a defamatory article called "The Truth About IceFrog: Behind the Bullshit", which has been termed "false" (unofficially) and "fake" by Valve representatives. A common theory is that it is pure libel, written by Pendragon after his falling out with IceFrog. One of IceFrog's posts on PlayDota, which appeared before this incident, implies that IceFrog had no direct involvement with S2 Games.

However, the name supposedly reappeared in the Dota section of Valve's project management and bugtracking software, and was included in the Free to Play credits. It is unknown if it belongs to IceFrog or simply another Valve employee.