Reported here: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20121019/1738014.html
http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147469.html
Confirmed… Statements from Perfect World CEO, Gabe Newell, below… doesn’t seem to be on the Dota2 website/blog yet as of Thursday night
Perfect World CEO Hong Xiao: “Valve is one of the best developers of online games in the world. We are very excited to partner with Valve in bringing Dota 2 to Chinese gamers. Dota 2, a refined work by the developers at Valve, has received great attention from players worldwide. With our years of expertise in delivering quality games in China, we are confident that adding this action strategy game to our diverse portfolio of games will bring additional world-class entertainment and premier gaming experiences to our players in China.”
Official Perfect World press release here: http://www.pwrd.com/html/en/news_c_121019.html
Valve managing director Gabe Newell: “We knew when we started building Dota 2 that Dota was already loved by millions of gamers in China. Valve gave very careful consideration to which potential partner, among multiple candidates, would best serve the Chinese Dota community. In the end, Perfect World was the clear choice to best bring the full Dota 2 experience to customers in China. IceFrog, and the entire team at Valve, are looking forward to moving Dota 2 forward in China with the rest of the world.”
Additionally, it is reported that IceFrog is working with Chinese Dota2 localization lead HippoVic on a trip to visit China…
http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147472.html
Dota2 Chinese localization lead HippoVic revealed, he is currently working on paperwork and arrangements for IceFrog to visit China. IceFrog had previously said he wished to visit China, and this time if he does visit, he would likely be there to settle the partnership arrangements with Perfect World, visit the company, and tour China while getting a feel for the Chinese Dota atmosphere. As the current Dota’s lead designer, he has millions of loyal fans, yet he maintains a very low key profile, and has yet to reveal his true identity. Even during TI2, he declined to reveal his public face, with only star commentators and players having met him. There haven’t even been photos leaked out, nor even clips of audio, nothing.
So, will we finally get to see who IceFrog really is in his visit to China this time? What will Dota2’s Chinese servers be like? Let us look forward to IceFrog’s visit to China.