Speaking in an interview with Venture Beat, S2 Games CEO Marc DeForest discusses the health and future of their free-to-play MOBA game Heroes of Newerth.

The main points to take away from the lengthy interview are:

• Heroes of Newerth 3.0 will be launching in early 2013. A seven-figure budget went into developing the massive update. The promised improvements include:
  • AI bots, and better training modes for new players through use of AI bots.
  • 30 of the original character models are getting an overhaul.
  • The map is getting an overhaul, including the buildings, towers, wells, and general textures.
  • Improvements to user interface, in-game chat, buddy list, and notifications.
  • Improvements to the “report a player” system.
• HoN has has 50% player-base growth in 2012, with most new players coming from South-East Asia.
• In 2012, S2 Games has doubled in personnel to close to 100 people.

HoN Legion Well update example – Source: Venturebeat

DeForest also took the time to discuss the aggressive nature of the MOBA community, and the high barrier of entry this creates for new players. He hopes that the new AI bots and other improvements will help ease newcomers into the game.

DeForest also remarked that despite the growing popularity of HoN’s main competitors (Dota 2, League of Legends), HoN has also seen a continual increase in the number of concurrent players in the game. “We’re still expanding and we see a bright future in front of us in 2013,” said DeForest.

Source: Venture Beat

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