Initial success
Dota 2 Battle Pass for The International has been out for just nearly 2 months. Yet the prize pool skyrocketed to the unimaginable point.
Just 54 days online, The International 2019 prize pool has surpassed that of 2017 and almost reached 2018’s prize pool.
This is partly due to the sales bundle Valve announced earlier on June 26. The bundle was first one time only for each user. However, Dota 2 fans later discovered a new “bug” to purchase more than 1 bundle for each account.
Trick or Tricked?
Some people even claimed to have found out the bug to buy infinite bundles. The trick was using different browsers to log in to the account. Then the user could buy the bundle freely within around 35-40 cooldown.
Apparently, Dota 2 fans seemed to “outwit” Valve in finding new “bug” to bypass the limit. However, when we look more closely at the results, the conclusion we draw would contradict it. We were tricked into buying the bundles!!
Take a look at the surge of The International prize pool after the bundle came out. It made a startling jump from around $20 to $25 million in just around 5 days. Considering the fact that only 25% of Battle Pass sales go to the prize pool, Dota 2 fans have spent around $20 million on this PC game.
What a tricky sales strategy from Valve. They managed to sell us their product while keeping us happy with the thought of “bypassing the system”.
What is coming next?
Yup, we are tricked, but Valve will deliver us the service accordingly. They promised to give out free rewards once the prize pool of The International reaches certain points.
Once The International 2019’s prize pool exceeds that of 2018, every Battle Pass owner will get 10 free levels. It has already been announced today. If the number still go up and pass the $30 million mark, we will get another 20 levels.
The International typically lasts for around 4 months or 120 days. We have enjoyed half of the time so far with $25 million in the prize pool. With the hype for this year’s The International, the prize pool should continue its growth. We have around 2 more months to conclude the event, a long way to go.
It will be very likely that we surpass the prize pool of 2018 in the next few days. However, after the sale bundle expires, the growth will slow down a bit. It won’t be as significant as it is now.
I would say $27 million is possible for this year’s battle pass. However, whether $30 million is reachable or not, it is up to us Dota 2 fans to decide.
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