Valve Halts Ticket Sales To Next Week's Dota 2 International, Will Offer Refunds

Went on sale September 22.

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor Posted:
Share:

Dota 2 International 2021

Three months ago, Valve announced that the 10th iteration of The National, its Dota 2 World Championship event, would be taking place in Bucharest, Romania, running from October 7-17. Just a month ago, it announced plans to start selling tickets for fans to attend the event in-person, and those went on sale just two weeks ago, on September 22.

It took only 10 days from that initial sales date, though, for Valve to rethink its plans. The company announced on Saturday that it has been "carefully evaluating the continued rise of Covid rates in Romania, as well as the resulting introduction of new local restrictions in Bucharest" and as such has decided to cancel plans for fans to attend, while refunding all ticket sales.

One has to wonder what transpired with the COVID situation in that country over just 10 days to make Valve change its mind. No offense to our fans from Romania, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that, between the location, short time frame, and general-but-not-breaking COVID concerns, sales didn't measure up to whatever criteria Valve was hoping for, and thus it was easy for the company to put the singular blame on the pandemic.

To compensate for the lack of attendance -- or for those who weren't planning to attend in the first place -- Valve has a number of programs taking place within the Dota 2 client, as outlined in a post from Friday. These include the Compendium Reward Line, a kind of battle pass that you can earn progress in by making various predictions, and autographs of the talent at the show, which you can purchase and then "level up" by (surprise!) purchasing multiple times. You can also vote for the winner of the Dota 2 Short Film Contest from within the game client.

To keep up with all the action, Valve has launched a new website, which can be found here. It's available in standard and spoiler-free mode, so you can catch up on the action after it's happened without worrying about seeing past results.

Share:
Got a news tip? Contact us directly here!

In this article: DOTA 2, Valve.

About the Author

Jason Winter
Jason Winter, News Editor
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

Discussion (0)


Read Next

Genshin Impact Version 2.2 Arrives October 13, New Razer Collab Merch Available

Genshin Impact Version 2.2 Arrives October 13, New Razer Collab Merch Available

Hold on to those Primos. Thoma’s being added to the roster.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 year ago

You May Enjoy

Rift Celebrates Steam's 20th Anniversary With Free Stuff...Still No Update In Sight

Rift Celebrates Steam's 20th Anniversary With Free Stuff...Still No Update In Sight

Players get 7 free days of Patron status.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 week ago
Online Social Deduction Horror Game Deceit 2 Launches On PC Today

Online Social Deduction Horror Game Deceit 2 Launches On PC Today

Trust no one...not even your friends!

By Matthew D'Onofrio - 1 week ago
The Division 3 Has Been Announced And It Comes With A New Executive Producer

The Division 3 Has Been Announced And It Comes With A New Executive Producer

It's officially official.

By Troy Blackburn - 6 hours ago
As Investors Worry About Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIV Devs Plan To Keep On Making Variant And Criterion Dungeons

As Investors Worry About Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIV Devs Plan To Keep On Making Variant And Criterion Dungeons

Though, they admit there are some things they need to address.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 week ago
The Omen Is Coming: Paladins Kicks Off Week-Long Fall Of Ascension Peak Event

The Omen Is Coming: Paladins Kicks Off Week-Long Fall Of Ascension Peak Event

Defend Ascension Peak and Jenos from Omen and the Abyssal Lords.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 week ago