Dota 2 developer, Valve Corporation, has revealed that they are aiming to release a new hero by the end of November as well as changing the game’s release cycle for new heroes and updates to be more constant.

Valve relayed the release window for the newest hero in their latest blog post, which also included improvements to matchmaking for the new ranked season.

The developer acknowledged that they “know the community tends to expect new heroes in the fall each year,” as the game’s most recently released heroes have all been added following the conclusion of The International (TI), which happens in August every year.

Dota 2’s newest heroes, Void Spirit and Snapfire, were released last November in the massive Outlanders Update after first being revealed in TI9, which was held in Shanghai, China last August.

Much of the Dota 2 community has wondered whether the game’s tradition of releasing a new hero after every TI can continue this year after TI10 was delayed to 2021 by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This year’s tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden back in August.

In addition to November’s new hero, Valve revealed that another one will follow “in the first quarter of next year,” which is an unexpected change of pace from Dota 2’s usually slow hero release cycle.

“Recently we’ve been thinking about trying an overall development approach of spreading out updates during the year, rather than only having most content and updates centered around The International. We are hoping a steady state of content will prove to be more engaging to users than the previous approaches,” said Valve.

While Dota 2 players can enjoy an improved playing experience with the new ranked season, most will surely be looking forward to more heroes joining the game’s 119-strong hero roster.

Valve confirms new hero for Dota 2 coming in November