Valve is starting to hype up the The International, their annual Dota 2 Championship. As part of the hype train, Valve has revealed this year’s bonuses to players who support the event. Players who buy the $10 International Battle Pass will gain access to Siltbreaker, the co-operative multiplayer campaign, as well items and access to live event streams.
Valve always puts 25 percent of the International Battle Pass earnings towards the prize pool. Those earnings add up quickly; last year competing teams fought for over $18 million. Currently, the 2017 prize pool is over $7 million and continues to grow.
The competitive esports scene continues to become more crowded. Relative newcomers like Overwatch and Rainbow Six: Siege are doing better than ever. At the same time, mainstays such as League of Legends and Counter Strike are still going strong. Valve has to find a way to stand out from the rest. While the addition of a co-operative campaign in a MOBA might seem strange at first, it’s an interesting way to stand out from other competitive games.
Siltbreaker has four players breaching Dark Reef, a watery prison full of enemies. While it’s unclear what Siltbreaker will play like, it would be interesting if it was closer to Diablo than Warcraft. While players shouldn’t expect a lengthy campaign, it’s a nice change of pace and will hopefully provide skins or items to use in multiplayer.
Act I of the Dota 2 co-operative campaign will launch later this month, with Act II launching later in July.
