Despite frequent online chatter that “Dota 2 is dead”, the game came to prove its doubters wrong over The International 11 (TI11) finals weekend. The multiplayer online battle arena game surpassed a million players for the first time since 2019 and it was all thanks to Valve and TI11.
On the 27th of October, right before the start of the TI11 finals, Valve released The International 2022 Swag Bag, which gave away enticing goodies for free, such as:
- One month of Dota Plus.
- A Level 1 Battle Pass, redeemable for 24 Battle Levels if you already own a Battle Pass.
- Your choice of one Arcana from any available on the Dota 2 store.
These alluring incentives attracted many past players, who have stopped playing, back to the game they used to love while also bringing many new players to download and try the game.
At the end of the day, it was a marketing technique used in conjunction with TI11. Despite not having record-breakingly high viewership (if anything, it was the opposite), it clearly was enough to generate buzz and hype to push the game itself to break the records instead with the help of the free Arcana skins.
This was one hell of a way to mark the end of TI11. Don’t forget to claim them before you lose them!
