Valve has confirmed that Dota 2 will be a free-to-play game. While this isn’t a huge surprise, Valve also wanted to confirm that there will be no “pay-to-win” and that all items will be cosmetic and all heroes will be free of charge.

“We’re really excited about this,” wrote Valve. “As we’ve explored cosmetic customization for heroes, we’ve been finding that we can use it to broaden our lore, and expand on the characters. We’ve received a lot of positive responses to the unique hero voices in the game, and the window they give you into each hero’s personality. We think this will be another avenue where we can expand in that direction.”

Some people will want to play but not pay, and there will will be some customization options for them. “Players who don’t want to buy things from the Dota 2 Store will be able to earn them in a variety of ways, such as by simply playing the game, increasing their Battle Level, or by trading with other players,” said the Dota 2 FAQ adds. “All the items in the store are cosmetic, and don’t affect gameplay. The opening of the Dota Store is a big part of our final push to launch,”

Valve emphasized the importance of the community, and in order to support that, players will be able to contribute content directly. “So today we’re also announcing that Dota 2 is now part of the Steam Workshop,” said Valve. “If you’re not familiar with the Steam Workshop, it’s a place where fans can upload content they’ve created for a game, and other players can vote and comment on it. The development team then takes those uploads and releases them as official parts of the game itself, and the original fan creator gets a slice of the sales from the in-game store. In the first year alone over 3.5 million dollars was paid out to TF2 fans whose creations are now a permanent part of the game.”

“If you’re a Dota 2 fan with some artistic skills, here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of what’s sure to be a vibrant community for years to come, and be able to contribute directly to the game you’re already playing non-stop. If you’re still working on your art skills, you can still contribute massively by looking over the submissions as they arrive, and giving the thumbs up to ones that you’d like to see in your games.

Source: blog.dota2.com