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Dota 2: The International 2024 does not have a Battle Pass

According to Valve devs, Dota 2 TI battle passes have been retired in favor of Compendium packages that serve as digital companions to the event.

TJ Denzer

September 4, 2024 10:55 AM

Image via Valve

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Dota 2: The International is upon us this weekend, and with it comes the latest edition of the long running tournament between the best teams in the world playing the popular MOBA. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a Battle Pass, and it looks like Valve may be moving away from the long running International Battle Pass in favor of doing what it calls Compendium packages. These still contain The International-themed rewards, but step away from the level line of character and game cosmetics as Valve aims to make more of a digital companion to the tournament than a store gimmick.

A few of the details of the Dota 2: The International 2024 Compendium can be found on a special page related to The International. Buying the Compendium gives players a variety of items related to Dota 2’s esports tournament, including access to features and activities, an Aegis emoticon, 51 Bingo Tokens, 36 Fantasy Roll Tokens, and a Player Sticker Capsule. The sales from Compendium purchases still go to The International prize pool, but the main difference seems to be a lack of character-themed cosmetics or even general cosmetics related to in-game items and player customizations.

Dota 2 fans on Reddit have also asked about what’s going on with Battle Passes and Compendiums for The International, and a user that seems to be sharing words on Dota and Valve’s behalf spoke to the matter. Simply put, it seems Valve believed the focus on items and cosmetics was a weakness of the TI Battle Pass and risked leaving “the rest of the year barren by comparison.” With that in mind, the Compendium seems as though it’s meant to encompass more of Dota 2’s full gaming year, continuing to act as a digital guide to events going on in the game rather than offer a one-time line of rewards for players to grind. Even so, the prize pool for The International 2024 is looking quite slim compared to previous years, only reaching $2,405,609 USD as of this time of writing, according to Liquidpedia.

It will remain to be seen if Valve can boost the Compendium to be as much of a boon to Dota 2: The International as previous years’ Battle Passes were, but it looks like the Compendium is here to stay. As Dota 2 TI 2024 kicks off this week, stay tuned for more coverage here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.