Next Dota 2 battle pass, Frostivus event teased by Valve

William Davis Published 21/11/2023

The long-awaited battle pass is finally headed to Dota 2, and Valve has already left clues on its release date.

Patch 7.34e is finally here, and Valve likely anticipated some disappointment with the tiny letter patch. The developer hopes to make up for it with some hints for future Dota 2 updates, including both the next seasonal event, Frostivus, and the return of new arcanas in a battle pass. Both events will bring an end to the long drought of cosmetic-themed events since the cancellation of the traditional battle pass.

The new information comes from a blog post on the official Dota 2 website. In a short four-paragraph post, Valve explained that this patch is meant to tide players over for bigger updates currently in the works. It confirmed that this year would feature a Frostivus event, which hasn’t been featured in the game since 2019.

The last Frostivus introduced the Ogre Magi arcana with a smaller battle pass, so this year’s version should be similar. Expect the new Frostivus Dota 2 event to arrive sometime in early December 2023.

The one confirmed difference is that this Frostivus will not include an arcana. Valve used the second half of the blog post to talk about other updates, including the upcoming arrival of multiple top-tier cosmetics.

Valve teases big battle pass coming soon after Frostivus

The Dota 2 devs have confirmed that Frostivus will not contain any new arcanas, but a battle pass coming soon after will have everything that fans expect and more. 

Frostivus will be released sometime in December, but after that, Valve is planning to release a bigger event that includes this year’s batch of arcanas. This event is currently unnamed, but it will most likely come out sometime in the first quarter of 2024. Valve claimed that it will likely release “in the next few months” and also stated that the event has “gained a few more moving parts than we initially planned.”

Based on the phrasing, it sounds like Valve will be introducing a new battle pass to help celebrate the release of Ringmaster, the new Dota 2 hero first announced at The International 2023. We predicted he would come out sometime in February, which would line up with Valve’s predicted timeline. As for who will get those coveted arcanas, Lion, Slark, and Riki are the top-played heroes of all time without an arcana, persona, or arcana-esque set. Expect at least one of those heroes to get some love.

Read Also

Dota 2

Oddin.gg’s head of risk helps explain how alleged match fixing during Dota 2 at EWC was flagged Michael Hassall The Dota 2 competition at The Esports World Cup 2026 was shaken to its core during the Survival Stage earlier in the week when Southeast Asian-backed, South American team PTime (better known as PlayTime) were removed from the event citing “integrity concerns.” While the case is still ongoing, and none of the accused confirmed to be guilty, one of the biggest questions behind the incident was just how these concerns ...

Dota 2

PTime removed from Dota 2 at EWC 26 as ESIC investigates coach and captain Michael Hassall Filipino organization PlayTime Esports has been removed from the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 competition following an intervention by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) and a ruling by the Esports Foundation and EWC. Following a postponement of the PTime vs. Vici Gaming Survival Stage matchup on July 14, ESIC announced that it was actively investigating two members of the South American-based PTime organization, Team Captain Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera and ...

Esports Betting

Here’s the complete Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 schedule Hannan Mundia The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 has finally arrived, and here’s the complete schedule for the event to ensure you don’t miss anything. While it isn’t exactly the newest name in the esports scene, the EWC has quickly become a leading event for esports fans worldwide. It brings together professional players and fans from various games, combining them into one long event that everyone can enjoy. 2026’s Esports World Cup ...

Dota 2

Dota 2 at the EWC 2026 preview, details, predictions, and more Michael Hassall A titanic 24 teams are set to compete in Dota 2 at the Esports World Cup 2025 in one of the largest events of the competitive season. These two dozen organizations are set to take over the Paris Convention Center, filling it with top-tier competitive Dota 2 action. With a $2,000,000 USD prize pool, the largest on the Dota 2 calendar, there’s everything to play for in the final major ...

Dota 2

Top Dota 2 combos to boost your MMR fast Wasif Ahmed Dota 2 is a complex and interesting game that requires skill, strategy and teamwork to be successful. Having said that, one of the best ways to improve your MMR is by learning certain Dota 2 combos that have proven themselves over time. It’s worth knowing that there are not that many Dota 2 combos that have survived the test of time because every new patch changes the game’s meta. Nevertheless, ...

Dota 2

Dota 2 temporarily deletes popular hero before launching huge Dark Carnival update Michael Hassall If you were an Axe player in Dota 2 earlier this week, you’d have found yourself out of luck when you tried to pick the stalwart Oglodi warrior, as the hero was straight up removed from the game on June 23. The hero was completely missing from All-Pick and his hero model was replaced with a missing poster. Axe couldn’t even be demoed or picked in a custom game for ...

Dota 2

Team Yandex stop the magic, defeating LGD in BLAST Slam VII finals Michael Hassall Team Yandex have defeated LGD Gaming in the grand finals of BLAST Slam VII in a dramatic 3-1 series that saw both teams pushed to the limit, but ultimately Yandex come out on top. Concluding the last major tournament before teams head to the Esports World Cup and The International 2026 next month and in August, Yandex were able to counter the momentum of LGD that had brought them into ...