Last year, it overtook $40 million, a milestone most games cant even dream of achieving.
If that were the case, I wouldnt be writing this article.
This is very positive, no doubt.
Well, that and the fact that most of us are addicted to Battle Passes.
In an ideal world, yes.
But we live in a world which is far from ideal.
The bar graph below shows how the non-TI prize pools have varied over the past five years.
Has Covid-19 been a factor in the last two years?
Of course it has.
Even the most stringent Valve critic will admit that the tournaments have reduced due to the pandemic.
Hows Valve doing in all this with respect to Dota 2?
I think theyve been doing pretty well for themselves through TI Battle Pass sales.
Now granted, that not all of this ends up as profit for the company.
Credit where credit is due.
TI has always delivered and for the most part, production has gotten better with the years.
However, the production costs surely do not scale in a similar manner as the prize pool.
That was like a mini TI, the same format and the same intensity.
And it works, because we have become suckers for it.
Dota Pro Circuit Seasons
The DPC Leagues were introduced in the post-pandemic rejuvenation of Dota 2.
In theory, well and good.
The Leagues take up a lot of time and the prize money from the leagues isnt too enticing either.
Take a team like4Zoomers, who had decent players in the first two seasons of the DPC Leagues.
In the Western world, it is woefully low.
And this, we are talking about the fourth best team in North America.
A sixth place finish in Division II is just $7,000 for an entire team.
Of course, the solution is not to throw heaps on money at Division II.
That can also have a negative effect, as Ive seen happen in the Indian Dota 2 scene.
Even though it might be good for viewers, the system is flawed in multiple ways against players.
If this continues, the number of players motivated to make it big in professional Dota 2 will dwindle.
Admittedly, I do not.
The question is, what does Valve want?
