No one can fault Valve for not following trends – it announced a battle royale mode for popular MOBA Dota 2 to be included in the 2018 International Battle Pass. A month later, The Underhollow is finally live to explore for Battle Pass owners.

Though it’s not a full-blown 100 player affair, The Underhollow does see eight teams with three players each battling it out. The mission is to locate Roshefort, an incredibly rare cheese that can only be found beneath Roshan’s lair. So not only must you contend with other teams but Roshan as well who’s destroying the tunnels in The Underhollow, limiting the play space.

Become the last team standing and claim a large amount of Battle Points. Battle Points can also be earned by taking down enemy teams and finding specific treasures or even cheese. To access The Underhollow, players must purchase the level 1 Battle Pass for $10. If you don’t have time to farm all the unlockable rewards, then individual levels can be purchased as well – spending $37 will get you to level 75.

It’s that time of the year again as Dota 2 players count down the days till The International, the biggest esports competition for the MOBA in the world. The 2018 International Battle Pass is thus available and it offers a range of different rewards and unlocks. While last year’s pass offered a co-op PvE campaign, this year’s is even crazier with The Underhollow. The best way to describe is as Dota 2’s take on Battle Royale.

The official site says, “Battle through a labyrinth filled with monsters, marvels, and many other three-player enemy squads as you search for Roshan’s rarest cheese and work to be the last team standing. You’ll need to navigate carefully to earn the XP and Gold needed to destroy your opponents. But don’t take too long—Roshan’s cheese frenzy is causing cave-ins as he moves towards the center of the Underhollow. Soon enough there will be nowhere left to run.”

Combined with being the last team standing and moving closer to the centre of The Underhollow due to cave-ins forcing players together, this certainly sounds a lot like Battle Royale to us. Interestingly, other features in the Battle Pass include Cavern Crawl mode, a new Mutation mode, the Emerald Abyss (a reward terrain which will never be available outside of the Battle Pass) and much more.

More information about The Underhollow, when it goes live and how long it will be active for will arrive later. Count on it being available once The International 2018 is in full swing. As always, proceeds from the Battle Pass will go towards The International 2018’s prize pool.

The dates and venue for Dota 2’s The International 2018, arguably the most high-profile esports tournament in the world, have been announced. Interestingly, it will be taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada on August 20th till August 25th. This will be the first time ever that the tournament happens in Canada. It’s also the first time since 2011 when The International started in Cologne that it will happen outside the United States.

Tickets will go on sale starting from March 23rd at 10 AM PDT and 10 PM PDT with two different types available. You’ll be able to purchase midweek tickets for $125 CAD which provide access to the first four days (August 20th to 23rd). If you want to attend the finals taking place on August 24th and 25th, you’ll need to pay $250 CAD for a ticket.

It’s expected that another Battle Pass will be available to help raise funds for The International 2018. How this will work with the newly introduced Dota Plus, which allows for year-round Battle Pass-like benefits, remains to be seen. How will come out on top in the competition though? We can’t wait to find out.