The new Vulkan graphics API, which was designed to rival Microsoft's DirectX 12, has just checked a new box on its long and still counting list of achievements. Valve has announced that it is rolling out an update for its highly successful "DOTA 2" video game title to support the Vulkan beta API.

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"DOTA 2," by far, is the most widely played game on the Steam platform with at least one million players active daily. The Vulkan API update is now available as a free update and can be download on the "DOTA 2" DLC section, according to Tom's Hardware.

The update can be downloaded by simply ticking the box next to it. The Vulkan API upgrade requires 312MB of storage space. Once the update is successfully downloaded, it needs to be enabled by adding the "-vulkan" command on the "DOTA 2" launch options. It is also important to ditch the DirectX and OpenGL commands to guarantee a streamlined performance.

Since the Vulkan API is still in its early beta stage with "DOTA 2," gamers have reported a handful of issues and bugs. Valve acknowledged these minor glitches and warned that gamers will experience temporary stuttering when starting "DOTA 2." Valve has blamed this on a shader caching issue.

On the Linux platform, Valve said that computers running on a NVidia graphics card may notice some screen tearing, even if the VSync option is turned on.

Although being integrated into one of the biggest online games right now is a big step for Vulkan, many tech analysts are still skeptical whether the API can compete against Microsoft's Windows-only DirectX, which is currently the predominant graphics API. Meanwhile, some platforms are still stuck with the almost ancient OpenGL platform. But Vulkan is being groomed to replace this aging graphics API, according to PC World.

TagsVulkan, Vulkan API, DOTA, DOTA 2, Vulkan DOTA 2, Valve, DirectX, OpenGL