August 1, 2011 by Paul Curtin
A couple days ago, the creators behind what many consider to be Defense of the Ancients 1.5 (Heroes of Newerth) switched their game to a free-to-play format in what seemed like an effort to brace for future competition from Valve’s next game, Defense of the Ancients 2. Although Valve has yet to show any footage of Dota 2 to the public, their latest announcement sounds like they’re pretty confident in its success and planning to debut footage of the game in a big way.
Unlike most developers who would choose to debut a teaser during a big event like E3 or Gamescom, Valve has planned a five-day tournament called “The International”, which will pit the top 16 Dota teams in the world against one another in Dota 2 from August 17-21 at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Not only will the tournament be a big deal because of it’ll be the first time people will get to see actual gameplay footage of the game, but Valve is putting up $1 million as a prize to the team that takes first place.
“The International is the first public Dota 2 event and will give the tens of millions of gamers playing Dota around the world their first look at the new game,” said Valve president Gabe Newell. “I have had the good fortune to watch the competitors as they prepare for the tournament, and the level of play is extraordinary.”
