Dota 2

Publisher Valve has opened up Dota 2 for all those who want to play the game by removing a queue system that selectively gave entry to enthusiasts.

What are the new changes?

Players will no longer have to face speedbreakers like sign-ups and a queue system. In other words, the game is now open to everyone. Valve announced the new development with a new blog post headlined "The Age of Sign-Ups has Ended".

In the past

Over the last few months, access to Dota 2 has been given to enthusiasts through a queue system that "gated entry into the community". Valve said it has "used this system to gradually increase the size of our playerbase" as it ramped up "infrastructure and improved the experience for new players."

Solid success

The game has a massive user base of about 6.5mn a month, most of whom are active and playing the game on a regular basis. Owing to the fact that it is a 'free to play' game on the Steam store, Valve had no trouble in getting players hooked to the game.

Now that many critical restrictions have been lifted, the user base is expected to grow.

Background

Dota 2 is a standalone sequel to Defense of the Ancients, which is a mod. The game, which is also developed by Valve, was released during July 2013 as a free-to-play title for Windows PCs. The release came after a long beta testing phase which began back in 2011. The game is also available on OS X and Linux platforms.

Start playing

The game can be played by clicking on the 'Play Game' button on the Dota 2 Steam page.