The prize pool for Dota 2’s The International tournament has surpassed $15M USD, with 20 days having passed since the Battle Pass went live. The unique crowdfunding tool allows players to add to Valve’s initial $1.6M prize pool through in-game purchases, built around a leveling reward system.
Last year the Battle Pass helped TI9 reach a total prize pot of $34.6M—the highest of any esports competition to date. By even conservative estimates, the current Battle Pass should surpass this at its current growth rate.
Despite maintaining a lead over last year’s prize pool, hourly sales for the TI10 Battle Pass have differed by just over $500K over the last five days. This is in stark contrast to last year, where TI9 Battle Pass sales never fell below a $2M gap compared to 2018.
In previous years, there has typically been a sales lull in June, which turns around once more content is released in the Summer. As visualized by the site Dota 2 Prize Pool Tracker, day 51 of 2019 saw the steepest single-day climb on record (beyond the initial sales period), from $19.6M to $22.5M.
As previously reported, the effects of the COVID-19 recession — including rapid increases in unemployment and lower disposable income — as well as limited access in some regions to internet cafes likely affected the number of people purchasing the Battle Pass, though some gamers have spent as much as $25K to level up. What’s yet to be seen is for how long the Battle Pass will ultimately be available, given the tournament it is supposed to support has been delayed to at least 2021.
It’s worth highlighting that, in June, Valve has implemented various changes to the Battle Pass system in response to community feedback. Rewards from certain features such as Guild and Wagering have been increased, while the Sideshop mini-game (which was initially removed after player criticisms) has been reintroduced, but as an optional alternative to collecting rewards.
