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Pay homage to the kings of the International Dota 2 Championships, Na'vi! These six Ukrainian studs won $1 million over the five-day tournament held at Gamescom, followed by China's Ehome, who landed in second place. The top eight teams competed bravely, so show some respect as follows:

1. Na'vi - $1 million
2. Ehome - $250,000
3. Scythe.SG - $150,000
4. MYM - $80,000
5. (tied) M5, iG - $35,000 each
7. (tied) OK.Nirvana.int, Mith-Trust - $25,000 each

Handing out over $1.5 million to the people who love your game enough to make it a career seems like a wonderful advertising strategy from Valve. Maybe eventually it'll be altered to include people who love Valve's games but have day jobs too. Maybe.

[Thanks, Aibbi!]

The International Dota 2 Championships will crown a victor Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EDT), broadcast live via the official tournament site. Teams Ehome and Sythe.SG will battle in the loser's bracket for the chance to face team Na'vi for a $1 million first prize. Even "losers" in the International Championships end up winners in our eyes, with second place earning $250,000, third $150,000, and down all the way through eighth place's $25,000. It's just like T-ball, but more lucrative.

Just a matter of days ago, we had generally no idea what Dota 2 played or looked like, and now Valve has posted full high definition replays for most of the Radiant vs. Dire matches from its "The International" tournament going on at Gamescom. Just click "View (Replay)" on the tournament match page to watch. If you turn up the resolution and send it fullscreen, it's almost like you're actually playing the game.

The video confirms most of what we knew about the game itself: It includes "denying" (which DotA successors like League of Legends have tried to eliminate), all the old heroes are along for the ride, and it generally plays just like the old DotA, though with much better graphics.

Not shown in the videos are the game's extensive social features - that will apparently have to wait until we can get ourselves into the beta and check them all out.

#dota We longer have to wonder what DOTA 2 looks like. Our days of watching gameplay-free trailers are over. More »

Valve's initial announcement of Dota 2 was a surprise to some. It's a game set in a high fantasy world, following on from a Warcraft III mod, and represents a style of game Valve's never really been involved with before. According to Valve, its development didn't begin solely because the company saw a bright future in the multiplayer online battle arena genre, but also because Valve employees were big Dota fans...

Following yesterday's announcement of the Dota 2 public beta, Valve informed us today that the stress testing should begin "a few weeks following Gamescom," the mega-sized games convention currently taking place in Germany.

A Valve representative also told us that the company is targeting the Dota 2 launch for the end of this year, but it could be early next. Steam users who registered should keep an eye out for an invite to the beta shortly.

From the looks of things, it appears as if one sneaky entrant in the Gamescom DOTA 2 tournament has been recording their screen! Here’s a quick video that shows quite a lot of doing nothing at a menu, but then from 1:28 onwards, it’s all in game action. The environment looks nice and lush, and the characters are quite bright and colourful. Definitely cut a line that plunges right into the middle of the MOBA-maelstrom of LoL, HoN and others. Also the commentators sound VERY EXCITED. Check out the footage below:(more…)

Valve has posted information about "The International" Dota 2 tournament going on at Gamescom this week, but a bunch of news about lucky Gamescom attendees playing the game isn't nearly as exciting as, you know, playing the game yourself. Along with the tourney schedule, Valve has opened up beta registration to the public for Dota 2. To sign up, all you need to do is head over to the Dota 2 page, sign into Steam and then click "Get on the List" to join.

Unfortunately, there's no information about just when the beta will be happening or even how players will be chosen to participate, but since there will likely be a lot of people watching the livestream from Gamescom this week, Valve is likely just grabbing names and Steam accounts of interested parties while it can. Here's hoping you get in and play - but not before we do.

With Valve’s DOTA 2 Championships about to happen tomorrow, the developer has also announced that it is taking sign-ups to the beta. Registration is open now. You need only head here, sign in with your Steam account details, and then click “Get on the list”. That’s it. Whenever the beta happens, they then promise they’ll get in touch. Meanwhile the championship will be streamed live from tomorrow morning, the first starting at 9am tomorrow morning (UK time), and then pretty much going on non-stop until Sunday, at which point anyone left awake/hydrated will be declared the winner. And that’s all the weather. Cheers to Chris.

As if from out of nowhere, Valve have released a trailer for DOTA 2 ahead of Gamescom. Essentially a class trailer, if you’re hoping for in-game footage that’s not happening yet. That’ll be happening during the live-streamed tournament taking place during the big German convention. But if you’re hoping for Valve’s world-class in-house animation, then bingo. An astonishingly gorgeous cartoon short explains the different ways to play the game, which you can see below.

(more…)

The International is right around the corner, and in order to get you hyped up for the global public debut of Dota 2, Valve has a question for you: "What does a hero truly need?"

If you listen to the gorgeously animated wizard/wiseman in the trailer above, a hero's needs depend on their circumstances. Archers may need speed, warriors may need strength, and floaty lightning people obviously need floaty lightning. If you listen to the millions of people anxiously awaiting the start of Gamescom, however, the answer is "immediate, total and unending access to this game."

#dota Were those real DOTA 2 screenshots we saw earlier today? Maybe. Is this a real trailer for the game, released by Valve today? Definitely. More »

#dota In 48 hours, we'll know exactly what Valve's DOTA 2 looks like, thanks to the kick-off of a million-dollar tournament for the new game in Germany. But maybe we're looking at it right now. More »

We've only seen artwork from the various characters to be included in Dota 2 so far.

Dota 2 is a radically different kind of game for Valve, so it makes sense the company would be revealing the game to the public in a new way.

Confirming rumors today, Valve will be shipping out 16 teams to Germany to participate in a Dota 2 tournament during Gamescom, a tournament that will act as the game's official unveiling, too.

The team's aren't competing for simple glory, either; Valve's handing the winner $1 million bucks!

"I have had the good fortune to watch the competitors as they prepare for the tournament, and the level of play is extraordinary," said president and founder Gabe Newell in the announcement release.

Thankfully, the tournament will be broadcast live in Chinese, English, German and Russian, letting the many of us not attending Gamescom an opportunity to see what all the fuss is about as it happens.

The releases says Dota 2 will be released on both PC and Mac "later this year," but doesn't address rumors Valve's looking into the free-to-play model, following the introduction of free-to-play games on Steam. Free-to-play is a common business model for these types of games, however.

The tournament itself takes place over the five days of Gamescom, August 17 through August 21.

Selling virtual hats must have ended up being a fairly lucrative business venture, as Valve announced today that it will use the upcoming Gamescom trade show to host "The International," a Dota 2 tournament with a million-dollar first-place prize. Let that sink in for a second. A million dollars.

To put that in perspective, the first-place prize for Starcraft 2 at last weekend's Major League Gaming Pro Circuit was 5 percent of that at $50,000. According to Valve, "the 16 best Dota teams in the world" will compete in a "group stage, double elimination playoff format" competition over the duration of the show. The tournament will also serve as the controversial action-RTS' public debut, and what better way to get some attention than makin' it rain. When asked to comment, Gabe Newell paused briefly in quiet contemplation before eating a handful of real diamonds.

Valve today announced a Dota 2 tournament taking place at Gamescom this month called "The International." 16 of the best Dota teams in the world are competing for a $1 million dollar prize. This is also the first time Dota 2 will be shown publicly...

On the one hand this isn’t too much of a surprise, given how earnestly the rumour mill has been grinding. On the other – well, given how good Valve are at fooling folk, official confirmation that their competitive strategy game Dota 2 will be on public display at Gamescon later this month is a pretty big deal. Oh yeah, and they reckon we’ll have it “later this year.” Woo!(more…)

Steam has announced some kind of thing that does a clever something or other that tweaks this thing and tinkers with this other thing, and the result is that downloads are faster. Or, at least, they will be. It involves caching at ISPs, more firewall-friendly protocols (downloads will be coming via good ol’ HTTP ) and, best of all, a system that means more incremental patch downloads, instead of having to re-grab big huge chunks of game. Here, I’ll let them explain – as well as share some bonus good news.(more…)

#steam Valve rolled out "all-new server and client code" supporting downloads over its Steam digital distribution service, intriguingly noting that, "soon, Dota 2 will be delivered using it." More »

Valve is already getting its head stuck into the F2P trough, so it was probably only a matter of time before they went from merely supporting F2P games to adopting the business model themselves. Their Head of Marketing Things To People Who Might Want To Buy Them Doug Lombardi was asked by French website Barre de Vie if Valve was working on their own F2P title. To which he promptly said, “Oui.”(more…)

With Bellevue’s finest opting not to make an appearance at E3 earlier this month, we’ve all been left in the dark THE TERRIBLE FRIGHTENING DARKNESS about what’s next on the plate for Valve, and when we might see it. DoTA 2? Portal 2 expansions? Something, at long, long bloody last, to do with Half-Life?

Well, in August we might find out.(more…)

#fulllifeconsequences Hoping for the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman and the long-awaited revelation of Half-Life 2: Episode Three at this year's E3? Well, hope a little less today. Valve has said it's not bringing any games to this year's expo. More »

Turning a Warcraft 3 mod into a fully-fledged product is probably a tricky process, especially when that mod has a feverishly devoted fan base. Valve senior project manager Erik Johnson recently spoke to IGN about how the Dota 2 dev team is tiptoeing through this potential minefield, explaining that the core gameplay of the mod will remain unchanged. "We'd be pretty hard-pressed to improve on that," Johnson explained.

Valve's additions to the DotA formula will be largely cosmetic, focusing on "infrastructure, art, and providing helpful tools to newcomers so they can figure out what's going on." That seems like a good compromise -- keep the things that hardcore DotA fans already know and love, while giving a leg-up to people like us, who manage to lose DotA matches within mere milliseconds.

Dota 2: from mod to full-production sequel.

Icefrog himself has answered a set of frequently asked questions on Dota 2's official website, clarifying and detailing a few concerns players have had since the game's official announcement. Much of the questions revolve around players leaving games -- Valve has not only implemented an AI system to take over for missing players, but players will be able to have a "friend of similar skill level" jump in and take over if necessary, or simply jump into current games that are missing players. The bots will also be customizable, so if you want to play against an AI that tests a specific part of your game, like "denying, last hitting, and harassing," there will be specific configurations to challenge those.

Replays are also mentioned -- players will be able to examine games in progress from all sorts of angles, watching charts and graphs in real time as the game goes on. There will also be "commentating and editing" features for replays, and the game will make extensive use of the Steam Cloud, keeping keyboard preferences, replay files and other settings available from any computer.

Icefrog also says that there won't be any changes for the sake of change in the actual gameplay, and that he will continue development on the original Warcraft 3 mod "for as long as the community wants," but that Dota 2 "represents the long term future for the game." In that sense, Dota 2 sounds like a very direct translation of the original game, though Valve is sparing no expense in adding metagame features to make it a smoother experience for everyone.

#valve The makers of Half-Life, Team Fortress and Portal are taking popular Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients and making it their own. The man behind it all gets into the nitty-gritty of the all-new Dota in a new Q&A. More »

Intra-industry sniping is, as any commenter will tell you, the fuel that powers the engine of gaming blogs. Imagine our disappointment, then, upon seeing Blizzard's design VP Rob Pardo being completely reasonable when he explained to Eurogamer why he thought Valve trademarking the word "DOTA" was a misstep. "DOTA" is, of course, short for "Defense of the Ancients," a WarCraft III variant created by the game's fan community. Valve recently announced it was working on a sequel to the mod, prompting them to file a trademark for the acronym (but not the full title) earlier this year."To us, that means that you're really taking it away from the Blizzard and Warcraft III community and that just doesn't seem the right thing to do. Valve is usually so pro mod community. It's such a community company that it just seems like a really strange move to us... I really don't understand why [they would do it], to be honest." Pardo's sentiment echoes that of two of the original mod's designers, Steve "Pendragon" Mescon and Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, who spoke out against the trademark in August. Blizzard, for its part, is clearly undeterred by Valve's claim, as evidenced by the fact that it's currently fashioning a StarCraft II mod called "Blizzard Dota."

Defense of the Ancients sequel coming in 2011.