The International 2022 Battle Pass may be coming out very soon. Shortly after the TI11 direct invitees were decided, a number of hidden files were changed related to a potential TI11 Battle Pass were changed.
Hidden files often reveal the secrets of upcoming game releases, and Valve isn’t immune from this phenomenon. Unlisted updates for Dota 2 were caught by SteamDB, which chronicles updates to Steam and all of its games. Though Valve didn’t formally announce it, there is now strong evidence to suggest that the TI11 Battle Pass will be coming out in the immediate future.
Dota 2 TI11 Battle Pass hinted at with Steam file changes
Three new apps were added to Steam on August 13. Apps in the Steam Store could hypothetically be anything ranging from new games to DLC. Past Dota 2 battle passes have been categorized in the Steam Store as DLC packages for The International and other events like Aghanim’s Labyrinth.
These three new apps are all currently set to hidden, with little information available about them. This is interesting because games and DLC that haven’t been released yet will still usually appear normally in the Steam Store to let fans preorder them. While it’s technically possible that three yet-to-be-announced games were each added to the Steam Store at the same time by coincidence, that’s likely not the case. These three entries in the Steam store have consecutive ID numbers, suggesting they are connected.
Speculation suggests that these three apps will ultimately be revealed as the three purchase options for the TI11 Battle Pass. Over recent years, battle passes in Dota 2 have had multiple entry price points, giving players extra starting levels and items. It’s very likely that that’s the case here as well.
Road clear to TI11 with Arlington Major over
The timeline certainly lines up for the TI11 Battle Pass to come out soon. The International Battle Pass usually comes out in May, but that timeline has been changed with TI11 starting later in the year in 2022. Valve announced a change of plans in June.
“We want to make the time right after The International concludes the best time to play Dota. To do this, we’re going to adjust the timing of the battle pass release to be later in the year than in previous years, that way the battle pass will run both throughout the event and for a significant amount of time afterwards,” Valve said.
The Dota Pro Circuit season is complete at this point, with 12 teams securing invitations to the event. All that’s left is the regional qualifiers, which are set to begin on September 3. Past installments of the TI Battle Pass have included predictions for qualifier results, so it’s possible that will be coming this year as well.
This suggests a late August release date for the battle pass and a run time into late November or early December. It’s possible that the TI11 Battle Pass could come out tomorrow, or in a few weeks. The end of the wait is definitely in sight regardless.
