While Artifact's gameplay and drafting mechanics received praise, it was criticized for its high learning curve and monetization model, which some saw as pay-to-win.

Valve reworked the game as Artifact 2.0, altering several features, including removing the need to buy or trade cards with money.

[7][9] Each lane also has its own independent mana pool, which is used for casting hero abilities and grows by one point after each round while also fully replenishing.

After all cards have been played in a lane, heroes and "creeps", which are weak but numerous mobs that can not be directly controlled and respawn every round, begin attacking whatever is opposite them, including the opposing tower if there are no units left.

[7] This repeats until all three lanes have been played, after which it goes to the "Shopping Phase", where gold accumulated during battles is spent on buying items and upgrading hero equipment in three different slots for weapons, armor, and accessories.

[7] Development of Artifact began in late 2014, with lead designer Richard Garfield brought in to help make a digital card game due to his experience with creating the popular Magic: The Gathering franchise.

[7][10][11] The game was then announced via a teaser trailer played at The International 2017, a large Dota 2-specific esports tournament organized by Valve, although no specific details were revealed.

[7][13] Artifact was created using Valve's Source 2 game engine, and features direct integration with the Steam Marketplace for buying and selling cards.

Writer Steve Jaros wrote character lore for Dota 2 and continued that role with Artifact by having each individual card provide more of it, all fully voiced, which he hopes would keep both games narratively connected.

[8] It was publicly playable for the first time at PAX West 2018, with a tournament hosted and all attendees receiving signed artwork prints and product keys for two free copies of the game.

[20] A beta for the PC version was released a week before the official launch, with attendees of The International 2018 Dota 2 tournament and its showing at PAX West given access to it.

[43] Tim Clark of PC Gamer praised the art style and presentation, noting that all of the game's assets were new and not directly copied over from Dota 2.

[44] Eric Van Allen of Polygon added that while the game demands investment to learn, it was "intensely rewarding" for those who stuck with it and did not mind its monetization model.

[46][47] The trailer, uploaded to YouTube, soon featured a high dislike-to-like ratio with commenters expressing their disappointment with Valve seemingly abandoning their other franchises, such as Half-Life, in favor of recent gaming trends.

[59] In March 2019, Valve said it was pausing its scheduled updates to the game to "re-examine" its decisions about its design, economy, social elements, and other issues.