In anticipation of The International, the inaugural Dota 2 Championships at Gamescom from August 17-21, Valve has released the first Dota 2 trailer today. Experience the world and heroes of Dota 2 through the narrative of its colorful shopkeeper. View the trailer here

The International features the 16 best Dota teams in the world competing in the Dota 2 Championships through a group stage, double elimination playoff format over the course of Cologne's five-day trade show.

The tournament will be broadcast in four languages (Chinese, German, Russian, and English) free of charge. The winning team will receive $1 million. In addition to the cash prizes awarded by Valve, NVidia is providing all the hardware for the event.

Dota 2 will be available for the PC and Mac later this year. For more information on Valve and its games, please visit http://www.dota2.com/