Even though strategy is the main focus, the third-person shooter Super Monday Night Combat is also often considered part of the genre. The first standalone game based around the concept was Demigod (2009).

The genre is also often called DoTA or DotA-based because of the scenario's popularity. Shooter game players have a high affinity for the MOBA genre, as shooter and MOBA games are the premier competitive multiplayer games on Google Play and are. The genre was started through Aeon of Strife, a custom map for StarCraft and later further expanded through Defense of the Ancients, a custom scenario for WarCraft III. It has a responsive system with many combat options and good hitboxes, making it as solid as any of the best free first-person shooters around. Heroes can attack each other directly and when they die they respawn at the base after a certain amount of time often combined with a penalty. An FPS MOBA, Paladins is more based on reactions and movement skills than other MOBAs. Heroes earn a currency that can be used to buy items and also gain experience to level up and access new abilities. There are also often defensive structures. These units march towards the opponent through paths that are called lanes. The objective is to destroy a main structure of the opponents with the help of computer-controlled units dubbed Minions that spawn periodically. Each character, often dubbed a Hero, has a specific skill set and teams are organized around complimentary skills. Typically MOBA games take place on a giant map without unit construction where two players or teams each control a single character.

ARTS (Arena Real-Time Strategy) or MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena - a term now trademarked by Riot Games) is a sub-genre of the real-time strategy genre with more focus on action.

Shooter moba games