With the release of Starcraft II last year came a boost in western demand for professional gaming, as evidenced by a dearth of new Starcraft tournament “casters” all over YouTube. We can speculate that many gamers who missed the original Warcraft III Defense of the Ancients mod – especially those who have invested time into Starcraft II, World of Warcraft, or who are frothing at the mouth for Diablo III – might be interested in checking out their favorite characters duking it out in Defense of the Ancients.
But when are we going to get to play it? After originally being announced in October, 2010, the quiet development of Defense of the Ancients underwent some “massive overhauls,” as announced back in May. We can’t be sure whether this pushed back any dates for DotA, but thanks to Jonny Ebbert’s Gamescom announcement we finally know that DotA will, in fact, be released alongside Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Unfortunately, we can expect this Blizzard title (like all Blizzard titles) to be released “when it’s ready.”
In any DotA discussion, Valve’s Defense of the Ancients 2 needs to be mentioned. Judging by the Dota2 screenshots released a few days ago, and especially by “The International,” a five-day $1 million Dota 2 tournament Valve is hosting (starting August 17 at Gamescom), things are looking good for Valve’s take on the genre. The trailer Valve just released doesn’t hurt, either. It’s fair to say that Blizzard is certainly in store for some tough competition for gamer dollars, and they will be looking to up the ante at their upcoming Blizzcon 2011 in October.
Are you interested in DotA? Who makes up your dream team of elves, devils, and space marines?
Source: VG24/7
