Valve Moves Its Dota 2 Events Away From Its Top Fans

Dota 2’s esports scene is not as exciting as it used to be until 2019. There are fewer tournaments per year, those tournaments offer smaller rewards, and the game’s player base is aging rapidly.

To make matters a bit worse, Valve has announced that two of the three Dota Pro Circuit Major for 2023 will be held far from Europe. One of them will take place in Lima (Peru) while the other will be played in Bali (Indonesia).

https://twitter.com/wykrhm/status/1611162432390713344

Why Is Valve Doing This?

Valve’s decision will probably delight South American and Southeast Asian fans. But it will certainly disappoint European fans. Just one of the three Majors will take place in Europe and the question is why?

At The International 2022, the top three teams were from Western Europe. Historically, this part of the world and China have been the two most loyal to Dota 2. There are millions of fans here who play the game (or at least used to) and enjoy traveling to tournaments to watch famous competitors like Clement “Puppey” Ivanov.

Organizing a Major in South America guarantees that almost nobody in Europe will travel or be able to watch it from home. The time zones are simply too different.

One of the reasons why Valve is probably doing this has to do with minimizing costs. In SEA and South America, prices are much lower than in Europe, North America, or even China. When you need to cut corners, you generally do it in a way that’s not completely obvious.

Since SEA and SA are now important regions for Dota 2, Valve has a very good excuse to organize some big tournaments there and claim that it’s only trying to promote the game. It would be great if that were the case. But many fear that the company has been a bit careless in recent years and is only trying to minimize its costs. Time will tell.

Header: Valve Corporation