The 10th International prize pool will be funded by 25% of sales of the next Battle Pass, which we are planning to release soon instead of closer to the event itself. However, with our team working from home and things taking longer to complete, the release date of the Battle Pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual.

The International crowns the extensive Dota 2 tournament schedule, controlled by Valve since 2017. Dota 2 recently received a massive update with new characters, upgraded courier abilities, the addition of outposts and more.

Valve will still create the prize pool from Dota 2 seasonal battle pass sales, and will now release the battle pass “soon” instead of just ahead of the now-canceled tournament. “With our team working from home and things taking longer to complete, the release date of the battle pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual,” Valve said.

Dota 2 is the latest esport to revamp plans due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Riot Games was forced to cancel its League of Legends mid-season invitational tournament, while the Overwatch League shifted its season to an online-only schedule. Ironically, physical sports like Formula 1 have actually switched to online esports-style formats due to the coronavirus.