While Valve won't hold an E3 conference this week, the developer and publisher and pusher of digital games is preparing to rework its insanely popular Moba game Dota 2.
The inbound update for Dota 2, which is being called Dota 2 Reborn, includes a new user interface, a new game engine, "Guided Bot" mode and the ability to create custom games.
Open beta for Dota 2 Reborn kicks off before this week closes. The update will be rolled out in the phases, with the new interface, specifically the game's launcher, rolling out during the first phase.
"Everything in the dashboard has been completely redesigned utilizing a new UI framework, and the engine that powers the game has been fully replaced," says Valve.
The user interface changes also extend to the Hero browser, but the in-game HUD will remain untouched for now at least.
"Heroes are the heart of Dota," says Valve. "We revamped the Hero Browser in order to create a single location for you to learn about, practice with, and customize your heroes."
Valve will elaborate on what it means by "custom games" later in the week, as it prepares to launch the open beta period. From there, Valve will introduce the new game engine it'll use for Dota 2 and the all-new Source 2 engine appears to be the leading candidate for that honor.
"Throughout the beta we'll be releasing frequent updates in order to fix bugs and make changes based on the feedback you provide," says Valve. "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."
Valve wants to keep the gameplay and heroes feeling and looking unchanged. The open beta for Dota 2 Reborn won't conclude until after The International, the game's massive e-Sport tournament, which will assuredly stick with the current version of Dota 2.
With August just around the corner, Valve doesn't want to put too much pressure on itself to ensure Dota 2 Reborn is stable enough before the tournament.
