Valve plan to increase initial prize money for The International

Several weeks ago, the Dota 2 community, teams, and players were completely surprised to learn that Valve would not release a battle pass for the upcoming The International 2023. As a result, many speculations began regarding different changes that could exist in the most anticipated tournament in the competitive esports scene. Moreover, in the last few hours, a report surfaced highlighting that Valve would change the starting prize pool of TI.

Unlike all esports tournaments worldwide, Valve has a completely different methodology regarding the TI prize pool each year. Recall that Valve places a starting prize pool as the base (so far $1.6M), while the rest of the prize pool is accumulated according to the community’s contribution through skins and battle pass purchases. However, with the battle base’s departure, Valve must make drastic changes to maintain the prize pool in the tournament.

Valve plan to increase the initial IT prize pool

Current analyst, commentator, and caster Yaroslav Vladimirovich “NS” Kuznetsov said that Valve would be planning to increase the starting prize pool of the TI. All this resulted from the Battle Pass output contributing to the prize pool of the biggest event in the competitive esports scene.

According to the Russian translation, in a broadcast of one of the Bali Major 2023 matches, NS said there is information regarding Valve planning to increase from $1.6M to $3M in the initial prize pool for the upcoming TI. As we note, this figure would be almost double what Valve is used to contribute out of pocket for the tournament prize pool. Furthermore, this would be the first time the game developers and event organizers have increased the base prize pool since its first edition in 2011.

Casters spilt some tea that VALVE with expand the initial prize pool of TI2023 from $1.6m (usual amount for TIs) to $3m (almost doubled).

And they will re-adjust crowdfunding in some way.

How high will the bar be this year? $15m?

— Arseny Kuzminsky (@_koozya) July 2, 2023

Another community member and prominent journalist in the Dota 2 scene, Arseny Kuzminskym, also said that the crowdfunding method would have a 180° turn. There is no doubt that this is a no-brainer, as they will no longer have the battle pass to raise funds for the prize. However, the Dota 2 community at large is anticipating what content Valve has to release to generate this revenue for the TI. As a result, the final TI prize may actually be affected and will most likely be much better than the 2022 edition.

Valve confirms TI-themed package

Valve confirmed that a month before the start of TI 2023, i.e., in September, they would release a “theme pack” regarding The International. However, no details were shared regarding what these packs will include; it is only known that they will focus on the participating teams and players.

On the other hand, without the Dota 2 Battle Pass, the prize pool of The International will likely drop significantly. Recall that the battle pass is a mechanic where players pay a subscription, which allows them to level up and earn rewards. In addition, this would be the second decrease in the prize pool of TI in a row, as after setting a record for 10 years in the competitive esports scene, the total amount of prizes is decreasing significantly.

Header: Valve