Valve unveiled a teaser for a new card game called "Artifact" to be released in 2018. The company will capitalize on the massive popularity of "Dota 2" by creating a game based on it.
The teaser was revealed just before the final match of Day 2 of the ongoing The International 7 (TI7) "Dota 2" world championship. The 30-second video showed an animation of different colored crystal pieces that converged to form the logo of the new game. Save for the title of the game and year of release, the teaser failed to provide any other vital details.
The event's host, Sean "Day9" Plott provided a little more information about the game, saying it involves three boards, and the player can control five heroes from "Dota 2's" hero roster and deploy them on the different lanes. He added that creeps will also be present in the game and will be spawning every turn. There will be also be gold that can be used to buy item cards that a player can equip to a controlled hero.
"Artifact" will surely draw comparisons with Blizzard's "Hearthstone," which is a turn-based card game based on the universe of Warcraft. Long-time fans of "Dota 2" may remember that the game's development was highly influenced by a very popular custom-made map for the game "Warcraft 3" called "Defense of the Ancients," where the "Dota" name comes from.
The move shows Valve's desire to capitalize on the global popularity of "Dota 2" and expand into different ventures that can draw even more gamers. "Artifact" would have the advantage of a source material with a huge fanbase, as well as a different gameplay that may prove popular to those who do not play "Dota 2."
Since the details on "Artifact" are still scarce for now, fans will continue to enjoy the excitement on the ongoing TI7 tournament, where $24 million await the victors.
