Apparently Valve doesn't consider Dota 2 to be in beta anymore. Hence the early pass scheme. But hey, since it's going to be free to play, they have to make a profit somewhere, right?
Thanks for the replies guys. I dont plan on buying a game you can get for free though - to me its pretty ridiculous that people are selling invites that are ment for their friends but hey - each one to their own . Still looking for one if someone is kind enough to invite me