Valve founder and head honcho Gabe Newell says that the studio's upcoming game, DOTA 2, will be free to play "with a twist".
Speaking on a podcast called Seven Day Countdown, Newell said that the game, which is bound for release on both the PC and Mac platforms, will use a free-to-play model that hasn't been used in a game before. The podcast was shared with Polygon and has yet to be released online.
Newell tried to elaborate a bit on what he meant, stating that the system would associate value to each player, and recognize and accommodate them for their contributions to the community.
"We all know people where if they're playing we want to play, and there are other people where if they're playing we would rather be on the other side of the planet," he said.
As he mentioned in previous interviews, Newell said that Valve would find a way to reward players who produced guides and performed other helpful behavior.
It boggles the mind as to how Valve plans to come up with such a system, much less automate its behavior while preventing players from abusing it. Only time will tell if the system is successful—once it's launched, that is.
