S2 Games on Wednesday officially released more information about Heroes of Newerth, its multiplayer action RPG that it says was inspired by the Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients. The game is currently in closed Beta and is expected to be released during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Heroes of Newerth pits two teams, each with up to five players in the roles of special hero units, against each other, with help from AI-controlled armies. The goal is to destroy the other team's base, and during a match players earn experience points and gold that they can use to upgrade skills or purchase powerful items. The game also features Voice-Over-IP controls and clan support.

The game takes place in the same world as S2's Savage: The Battle for Newerth and Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, both of which are now available as freeware from the S2 web site. Heroes of Newerth will sell for US$30 when it ships, but system requirements have not been released yet.