Valve’s Gabe Newell is someone who is highly revered by the community, which is why it doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that Newell can now be had as a voice pack in DotA 2. Yup, if you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to hear Newell announce in-game events in DotA 2, you now have that opportunity via a voice pack.
It won’t be free though as it is part of Dota 2’s Battle Pass which will cost gamers $10. For those unfamiliar with the Battle Pass system, basically it is a way for gamers to purchase in-game items and perks for themselves, while at the same time contributing a quarter of their purchases towards The International’s overall prize pool.
The International is Valve’s annual DotA 2 tournament and offers up one of the biggest prize pools as far as gaming tournaments are concerned. This is largely due to how DotA 2 players can also contribute to these prize pools via the Battle Pass system. As it stands the current prize pool is sitting at over $25 million.
It seems that every year the prize pool gets bigger and bigger, where 2015’s The International had a prize pool of around $18 million, followed by $20 million in 2016, $24 million in 2017, and now $25 million in 2018. Gamers who are interested in checking out the event can watch the live stream via Valve’s new Steam TV platform.