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While the International 11 (TI11) concluded in October, the next month has proven to be a rather welcome sight for Dota 2, as the game saw the biggest player gain in 46 months. The game recorded an increase of 67,381.4 players in Nov 2022, which is the highest number since Feb 2019 when it gained 89,162.7 players. Also as a result of the surge in players, Dota 2 has recorded an average player count of more than 500,000 for the first time since June 2019. It is likely that the surprise announcement of ‘The International Swag Bag' in the final days of TI11 has played the biggest role in this record increase.
Dota 2 gained more than 65,000 players in Nov 2022, the most since Feb 2019
In October, there were 456,302.7 Dota 2 players, but according to Steam Charts, that number rose to 500,000 in November, a massive gain of 14%.
Even though TI11 was held in October, the month was on its way to becoming the worst of the year due to the potential loss of over 50,000 players. On 26th Oct, Valve surprised everyone by revealing 'The International Swag Bag.’
The initiative offered a level 1 Battle Pass (or 24 levels for owners of a Battle Pass), a month of Dota Plus, and a free Arcana from the Dota 2 store to hype up fans ahead of The International (TI). For the first time since March 2019, the peak player count exceeded 1 Million in Oct 2022.
One month on, the International Swag Bag has indeed taken over the player base, and the increase in players hasn't waned with the numbers November has produced. The peak player count in November also came close to touching 1 Million.
Dota 2 players, many of whom may have returned to the game due to this announcement, are benefitting from these free Dota 2 aspects which have been rather coveted in the past years.
In November, the game also saw the release of the second half of the Battle Pass, which included Diretide 2022 and the new Razor Arcana. On the last day of the month, patch 7.32d was also released.
There have been red and green months in Dota 2 2022, but the overall trend has been positive, which is a satisfying sign for the game's fans. It remains to be seen how the year concludes, with December having produced variable results in previous years.
