Fans of the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients will soon be able to play its sequel, if they get picked to participate in the beta test. DOTA 2"s official website has now started taking sign ups for the fantasy action-RPG"s upcoming beta. The game itself, developed by Valve, will require a Steam account in order to play. It"s reported that the closed beta test for the game will start in September with the official launch coming later in 2011.
The beta sign ups for DOTA 2 come just as Valve is about to introduce full details of the game in a major way. As we have reported before, Valve will host the first pro DOTA 2 tournament at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany starting on Wednesday. 16 Dota teams from around the world have been invited to play in the DOTA 2 tournament which will be live streamed on the Internet at the game"s official web site. Valve will give the winning team a $1 million prize.
While gameplay footage from DOTA 2 hasn"t been released there have apparently been some screenshots leaked out on message boards and other sites. Meanwhile, Valve has decided to release a cinematic trailer that shows off some of the game"s fictional world and characters. You can check out the video at Valve"s YouTube web page. Valve"s other major game announcement, the multiplayer shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, is due to be officially revealed at PAX Prime in Seattle later in August