Dota 2 spectator client released for all to see

Valve is pushing the pro-gaming side of Dota 2 pretty hard, between its $1 million tournament The International, a documentary, and selling viewing passes for its fancy in-game spectator system. The developer's not quite ready to let everyone into the free-to-play game yet, but it has released a special spectator client all and sundry can download to watch matches.

You can watch current and recent casual matches for free, though most tournaments charge a small entry fee to view them. To see some fairly high-level play for free, though, try the Wild Card rounds from The International. They're from June so both the game and the metagame have come a long way since then, but it'll show how slick spectating is, with multiple commentators to choose from and whatnot.

The spectator client will magically transform into the regular Dota 2 client "once we expand server capacity," Valve says. There's still no word on when it'll enter open beta or officially launch, so sign up or cough up if you're gagging to get in.

Download the spectator client through Steam.

Dota 2's spectator mode