After a month since the release of the 2022 Battle Pass, The International 2022's prize pool is $8 million behind The International 2021's.

The International is Dota 2's biggest esports event, held annually. It is also arguably the esports' industry's biggest annual event. At least in terms of prize pools, The International's total cash prize winnings given to winning teams is indeed insurmountable. This year, it seems like that “insurmountable” mountain of cash prizes will also be impossible for Valve itself to beat.

Part of the reason why is the way The International's prize pool is financed. Every year, Valve would put out $2 million of its own money as the starting pot for the tournament. Then, Valve releases a Battle Pass that further finances the prize pool. Every purchase related to the Battle Pass increases the prize pool by 25% of the amount spent by fans on the Battle Pass. Valve's model here is very successful in that the essence of the Battle Pass used in other video games is in fact modeled after Valve's enterprising financial model. Fans get to earn exclusive skins that are most of the time bound to the battle pass and would never be earned again any other way. The Battle Pass also gives fans access to additional content, like seasonal game modes, quality of life improvements, and other features like fantasy betting in-game.

However, fans haven't really been happy with this year's Battle Pass. This can be seen by how much progress the prize pool has moved since the Battle Pass's release – a direct indicator of fans' spending behavior around the Battle Pass. The International Prize Pool tracker shows that this year's prize pool is $8 million behind the previous year's iteration around the same period. In fact, the prize pool has been at its lowest since The International 2016. This means fans haven't been as keen to spend on the Battle Pass as they have been in the past six years.

To be fair to Valve, the 2021 Battle Pass just released major content at the thirty-day mark, which spurred spending from amongst fans, while the 2022 Battle Pass hasn't had any significant updates so far that would have had the same effect.

Furthermore, fans are also questioning Valve's decision to extend the Battle Pass past The International. As mentioned above, purchases related to the Battle Pass will contribute towards The International's prize pool – but would that still be the case after the tournament has concluded? Will prize earnings be updated and will teams and players receive backpay from purchases on the Battle Pass after the TI Grand Finals? Valve hasn't addressed these concerns yet and remains a point of controversy within the Dota 2 community.

Meanwhile, Battle Pass purchases and spending usually experience a spike halfway through its lifetime. There's still a chance for Valve to do things right and encourage fans to spend more on the Battle Pass. However, it will take more than just gestures of goodwill to recover – this year's prize pool still has a long way to go before it could surpass last year's. And if it fails to do that, it would be the first time since The International's 12-year history that the prize pool won't be higher compared to the previous year's, and could be a sign for years to come for Dota 2 and The International.