Valve announces Dota 2 Reborn, new engine coming

Valve has announced a major update coming to Dota 2 called Dota 2 Reborn, which is moving the lane-pusher to a new engine (the long-awaited Source 2?) with support for custom matches. Here’s the description, straight from Valve’s blog:

"Today we are announcing the Dota 2 Reborn Beta, which brings with it a new interface, new engine and Custom Games. Everything in the dashboard has been completely redesigned utilizing a new UI framework, and the engine that powers the game has been fully replaced. On today’s update page we will be giving you a preview of the new interface. Early next week we’ll be talking about Custom Games, and later that week we’ll conclude with various details about the new engine and launch the open beta.

Throughout the beta we’ll be releasing frequent updates in order to fix bugs and make changes based on the feedback you provide. As you browse around in the new client, you’ll notice a few things that aren’t fully functional yet. Additionally, our focus has been on the dashboard so you’ll find the in-game HUD currently looks the same."

Among the coming changes detailed in this first announcement: players will more easily be able to find friends to play with thanks to a ‘one click’ invite and a 'party beacon' to broadcast their availability, as well as a feature that allows two existing teams to merge with one another. Valve also promises a new chat interface and chat rooms that will support up to 5,000 people. They’ve also redesigned DotaTV to present more options for watching streamed matches, both live tournaments and games your friends are playing. Finally, they’re adding new tutorials and bot matches in an effort to help new players learn the game.

Details on custom games will be posted early next week, and later in the week we’ll see more on the new engine along with the launch of the open beta. Dota 2 Reborn will leave beta “some time after The International.”

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.