During the live stream of the ongoing Bali Major, a former player and current analyst dropped a big surprise for the community. Unlike other years, Valve may not be launching a battle pass in 2023. This is a significant nod to the upcoming changes in the prize pool for The International 2023.
Valve has always implemented a unique set of ideas while deciding the prize pool of the biggest Dota event. They primarily focus on crowdfunding and introducing in-game items (including a Battle Pass) which helps them to set a huge prize pool for TIs. However, with the Battle Pass gone, Valve is aiming to change the economy of the Professional Dota circuit more than ever before.
Also read: Tundra Esports To Field A Substitute For Dota 2 Bali Major
Rumors Suggest Valve May Implement Multi-Million Dollar Changes In Dota Pro Circuit
The roots of these rumors trace back to the recent Bali Major live stream where NS, a current analyst, said :
“I’m saying there’s a bit of little insight. Maybe it’s open information, though, I don’t know. Let’s assume I made it up. At this TI, the starting prize pool will be $3 million, more than at any previous one.”
Reporter Arseny Kuzminsky provided further insights on the matter. According to him, Valve usually sets its initial prize pool to approximately USD 1.6 Million. They had set this limit back in 2011 and had maintained it so far. It is almost after a decade that they could be restructuring their plans for the base prize pool. This also implicates a change in the overall prize money for the upcoming The International this year.
Dota is famous for hosting huge prize pools in their Internationals and Majors. They broke records with the Dota 2 TI 2021 where they hosted the tournament with a prize pool of $40 million. However, with potentially no battle pass, Valve may have to bring significant changes to their crowdfunding system to keep their coffers filled for the upcoming International.