The International is being played again this month, with Copenhagen in Denmark as the setting. This remains a huge part of the Dota 2 calendar but some analysts have suggested that it’s lost part of its appeal. So how can this event be improved to regain the position it once held in the esports world?
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Bigger Prize Pools
There’s no getting away from the fact that a lot of people look at the prize pool when working out how important an esports event is. This industry has grown massively in recent years and prize pools are growing with it. Yet, The International has had its prize money reduced as other tournaments have increased theirs.
This means that 2023 was the year in which The International lost its title as the most valuable Dota 2 event. In 2024, it has a base prize pool of $1.6 million but the Riyadh Masters in July had a $5 million pool of cash. A change to the funding model has caused this drop and with the developers at Valve seemingly taking more of a hand-off approach it’s difficult to see this changing anytime soon.
More Advertising
There’s a lot of hype around the pro gaming circuit right now. Perhaps the problem is that The International hasn’t been advertised enough to take advantage of this situation. Valve has been working hard on new games like Deadlock, which has recently been revealed and has already gained a lot of followers.
Players, viewers, and streamers are all looking for exciting new games like this and Dota 2 has been around since 2013 so perhaps it’s harder to get people excited about it. However, there’s no doubt that the game remains popular and that this event has been popular in recent years. The late release of important details like the schedule and the broadcasts have caused fans to wonder whether there’s no longer any real desire from the organizers to make this event as big as possible.
Getting the word out among the top streamers and content creators would seem to be the simplest way to raise the profile of The International again. It’s also worth noting that esports gambling has become a huge industry and that Dota 2 betting online is extremely popular. You can find the latest odds for upcoming events, with other games like Arena of Valor and Kings of Glory also covered. The popularity of esports betting suggests that appealing to gamblers could be another smart move to bring the profile of this event back up to previous levels.
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New Heroes and Updates
Going back to the appeal of the Dota 2 game itself, the fact it’s been around for over a decade means that it may struggle to attract the attention of players when compared to new, innovative games on the esports scene. The likes of Tekken 8 and Rivals 2 are tipped to be among the top new esports games of 2024 while the relative failure of Foamstars shows how difficult it is to break into this market with new games.
The latest attempt to freshen up Dota 2 was revealed when The International was announced. It involves a new hero called Ringmaster, who has a series of abilities based on circus tricks. This character has been added to the game for everyone to use for free, but also introduced the compendium that is part of the event’s founding model.
Although it’s been around for a few years, the introduction of new characters and the appeal of online gambling has helped Dota 2 stay hugely popular. By focussing on areas like this and building more hype. The International could reach its previous heights again next year.
