Valve released the TI10 Battle Pass on May 25 and it did not take long for the Dota2 community to show their loyalty to the game. In only a day, the Battle Pass generated US $32.6 million in sales, consequently rising TI10’s prize pool to $8.1 million. By June 20 that number had risen to $15,714,108, which is over $500,000 higher than the prize pool generated by the TI9 Battle Pass at the same stage.

Although Valve did not unveil the end date of the TI10 Battle Pass at the time of release, it was later announced the subscription period would end on Saturday, September 12. However, Valve have since decided to push that date to September 19 to compensate for the in-game issues Dota2 players have experienced in recent days.

“In today’s update we will be extending the Battle Pass end date by a week, from Sep 12 to Sep 19,” read Valve’s announcement on Twitter.

“We have also made a few improvements to the Game Coordinator today, and will continue to investigate some more clues related to the extreme load surge that happened at 4AM Seattle.”

A network issue leading to Game Coordinator unresponsiveness has plagued Dota2 in the last few days, making the game unplayable for much of the community. The problem persists even after the supposed fixes and is likely related to the increased load on Valve’s servers.

Valve’s decision to unveil the TI10 Battle Pass end date so far in advance took the Dota2 community by surprise. In previous years, the Battle Pass usually ended at an unspecified date after the conclusion of The International, which left Dota2 fans guessing how much time they had left before they lost all the in-game benefits that come with the subscription.

Valve announced the indefinite postponement of TI10 in April, when it was unveiled the tournament would take place sometime in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic blows by. In order to avoid a situation where an extended subscription period would create a record prize fund that could never be matched, organisers decided to end the Battle Pass sign-up stage well in advance of the rescheduled tournament.

The exact date and location of TI10 has yet to be announced. Meanwhile, Valve-sponsored competitions are set to return with the launch regional leagues later this year.

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Until last summer, Valve��s prized MOBA title was unchallenged when it came to the largest kitty for a single esports event, firmly holding top spot with TI8’s US $25.5 million fund. That was until Epic Games burst onto the scene with the 2019 Fortnite World Cup, which featured a $30 million prize pool split between Solo and Duo tournaments.

The Dota2 esports community was not having it, however, and reclaimed the throne by contributing $32,730,068 to the TI9 prize pool via crowdfunding, bringing it to an all-time high $34,330,068.

Seeing The International prize pool increase yearly has become a tradition of sorts. According to the Dota2 prize pool tracker, the upcoming edition has the potential to reach well over $34.3 million and set a new record.

As of May 28, which marks only the third day after the TI10 Battle Pass was released, the prize pool for The International 2021 is already sitting at $9,958,846. To put that into perspective, the TI10 prize pool is 7% larger than it was it this stage last year ($9,310,026) and 37.2% larger than it was for TI8 ($7,259,832).

While the TI10 crowdfunding has enjoyed a very fast start, it’s also worth noting that this year’s Battle Pass will be live for longer than usual since Valve postponed the tournament to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How does the Dota2 Battle Pass work?

The International historically offers a guaranteed $1.6 million in the prize pool in addition to the money that is crowdfunded by the Dota2 community via the purchase of Battle Passes. By purchasing a Battle Pass in the in-game store, players unlock new content and cosmetic items, while 25% of all sales go directly into the prize pool for the annual Dota2 world championships.

The biggest addition to this year’s Battle Pass is the return of guilds, which allow players to join a large community of like-minded players. Guilds also offer exclusive challenges that require members to team up and complete them to acquire points and unique awards. While anyone can join a guild, only those with a Battle Pass will be able to create one.

The TI10 Battle Pass, which launched on Monday, May 25, has three tiers, with the lowest (Level 1 bundle) priced at US $9.99. Players can also choose to buy the Level 50 bundle for $29.35 or the Level 100 bundle for $44.99. Depending on the bundle, purchases contribute $2.50, $7.30, or $11.20 to the TI10 prize pool.

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