The International 2023 will not have a battle pass

The next Dota 2 battle pass won’t involve The International 2023, marking a massive shift in the massive MOBA’s monetization.

Dota 2 is famous for many things — a wide roster of colorful characters, eye-popping prize pools that dwarf other games, and the biggest event in all of esports with The International. However, Valve is not satisfied with how big of a deal TI is in its yearly content rotation, and it has announced plans to completely change how the game is updated.

The new information was released in an official blog post on June 19, 2023. Titled “Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future,” the post details Valve’s disappointment with TI serving as the focal point for Dota 2’s yearly content releases. It claims that the company ran an experiment this year by reallocating efforts that would have gone to the TI battle pass and using it to develop more game content.

Apparently, the first of these experiments was the massive 7.33 New Frontiers update.

Fan reception to the update, which has been mostly positive, has spurred Valve to continue with this test. It now plans to release more content updates throughout the year untethered from the pro scene.

While esports fans are likely disappointed by this announcement, Valve also confirmed that there would be an in-game update dedicated to The International 2023 in September, but it will not be the battle pass players are used to. It will not prioritize cosmetics but is still expected to help fund the event’s prize pool.

Next Dota 2 battle pass won’t be for The International 2023

With the bad news for Dota 2 esports out of the way, Valve has revealed plans for more regular content updates freed from the constraints of TI.

Valve remained vague, but this could mean more alternate game modes like Siltbreaker, Year Beast, and the fan-favorite Aghanim’s Labyrinth. It could also mean more giant gameplay changes like the ones included in 7.33. Valve also touched on cosmetic releases, which could occur more often with less saving up for the yearly battle pass.

This announcement is part of a multiyear trend of Valve putting less importance on competitive play. The International 2022 battle pass was broken up into two halves, reducing the prize pool of the event by more than 40% compared to the previous year’s.

This is troubling news for competitive players and fans who have followed the scene for potentially over a decade, and it could mean an even smaller prize pool when the event rolls around in October of 2023.