DOTA 2's Free-to-Play Announcement Has Students Worried

                Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve, told Seven Day Cooldown in a podcast last week that DOTA 2 will be free-to-play “with a twist.” Newell said that Valve would not be following the free-to-play model of any previous game – including League of Legends, a Massive Online Battle Arena based on the original Defense of The Ancients, which as of November 2011 had 32 million registered users.

                “I haven’t even played League of Legends,” Newell said.

                Newell was not specific about what form the model would take, but said that they are “…trying to figure out ways so that people who are more valuable to everybody else are recognized and accommodated.”

                Some students at Utah State University said they would prefer to pay than have DOTA 2 follow a free-to-play model.

                “I would rather pay money,” said Sean Hunt, a physics major. “I know I’m gonna like it, because I like the beta.”

                Jonathan Alan, a mechanical engineering major, said he “would much rather pay $60 for it,” than have it be free-to-play.

                Many free-to-play games use a system of micro-transactions to make a profit. Both League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth – MOBA games like DOTA 2 – use such a system. Hunt said that the downside of a micro-transaction system is that “as time goes on you either spend money or fall behind.”

                “I would just like to buy it once and have all the stuff,” Hunt said, “as opposed to constantly paying to keep up with everyone else.”