Dota 2’s The International 2025 Heads to Hamburg, Germany

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Valve Corporation will host The International 2025, the premier annual Dota 2 tournament, at the 16,000-seat Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, from September 11–14, 2025.
02
The tournament will feature 16 qualifying teams competing for the championship title.
03
It remains uncertain if Valve will reinstate the Battle Pass crowdfunding system, which previously generated record-breaking prize pools, such as the $40 million total in 2021.
04
Valve significantly reduced the prize pool to $2.7 million for the 2024 edition after discontinuing the Battle Pass model.
05
The event’s commercial outlook remains under scrutiny following Valve's 2024 decision to prohibit in-game advertisements for teams, a policy that raised concerns regarding sponsorship value.
06
This marks the second time The International has been held in Germany, following the inaugural 2011 tournament at Gamescom in Cologne, and the second consecutive year the event is hosted in Europe.

Summary

Valve Corporation has announced that The International 2025, the premier annual Dota 2 tournament, will take place at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany, from September 11–14, 2025. The event will feature 16 qualifying teams competing in a venue with a 16,000-seat capacity. This marks the second time the tournament has been hosted in Germany, following the inaugural event held in Cologne in 2011, and the second consecutive year the competition has been held in Europe.

The announcement highlights ongoing uncertainty regarding the financial structure of the tournament. Valve has not confirmed whether it will reinstate the Battle Pass system, a crowd-funding mechanism that previously drove record-breaking prize pools, such as the $40 million reached in 2021. Following the removal of the Battle Pass in 2024, the total prize pool dropped significantly to $2.7 million. Additionally, there is continued concern regarding Valve’s restrictive policies on in-game advertisements for participating teams, which industry observers note may negatively impact the commercial value and sponsorship appeal of the event.

The selection of the Barclays Arena serves as a return to a familiar location for the Dota 2 circuit, as the venue previously hosted ESL One Hamburg tournaments between 2017 and 2019. By moving the event to Germany, Valve aims to engage a significant European audience, though the long-term commercial trajectory of the tournament remains a subject of industry scrutiny due to recent shifts in prize pool funding and advertising regulations.