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"Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future", is the title of Valve's latest announcement surrounding their new vision for Dota 2. The latest developer update sheds some light on the changes the team is aiming to make as we head deeper into 2023 and as we get ever closer to the game's 10th birthday.  

New Vision

  Using lessons learned from the past, it seems that Valve is aware that a Battle Pass-centric approach hurts the game as a whole. The Battle Pass craze that has now seemingly infected most gaming franchises and "live-service" games has become the focus of all Dota updates in the past few years. As the post itself describes, essentially all content that could've been featured in an update (as in, one that doesn't require you to purchase anything) "gradually got swallowed by the Battle Pass". This isn't ideal, even for those who do purchase the Battle Pass every year. The Battle Pass always brings an insane amount of content and keeps being a great way to fund The International's massive prize pool but, as Valve themselves put it, "it leaves the rest of the year feeling barren by comparison." Here's where "The Future" comes in. Valve's new vision begins with a seemingly drastic, but welcome, step: no more battle passes.  

No more Battle Pass?

  It is technically correct to say that Valve announced that there will be no Battle Pass in 2023, but it is also disingenuous. What the developers have said is the following:     So, yes, there won't be a Battle Pass with that specific name, but there will still be an update that will "contribute directly to the prize pool." The key piece here seems to be that "new cosmetic items won't play a notable part." I am still expecting a battle-pass system, but focused on team/player/general TI fan-content à lá CS:GO, instead of the massive focus on cosmetic items that were seen in previous Dota 2 Battle Passes. Valve's change in approach seems to be based on the fan reception to the New Frontiers 7.33 update: "Community response to New Frontiers has helped us build confidence that working less on cosmetic content for the Battle Pass and more on a variety of exciting updates is the right long-term path for Dota as both a game and a community."  

As a Battle Pass enthusiast, should you be worried?

  I don't believe so. The pass system is essentially a money-making machine. Valve says that "most Dota players never buy a Battle Pass and never get any rewards from it," but you don't need many players to purchase them, you just need a select few to spend a ton of money levelling theirs up. Valve's new vision for Dota 2 seems to bring us to a nice middle ground. The Battle Pass will still be there, it will just have a different name and less of a focus on Cosmetic items. This gives Valve the time and resources to keep bringing new, big updates to the game as they did with New Frontiers. It seems like they're attempting to please both sides of the player base and, from what the 7.33 reception seems to be, they might actually succeed. There's no specific date yet for the next update or even a 10 Year Anniversary event "Yes, we're working on some fun stuff for it; no, we're definitely not going to hit the July 9th date listed on Steam". Once any dates are announced, we'll let you know.

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Images courtesy of Valve. If you enjoyed this article, take a look at our Dota 2 directory.