Dota Pro Circuit app updated by Valve, opened to all players

The 2021 Dota Pro Circuit season has officially begun, and with it Valve has dusted off the seemingly abandoned Dota Pro Circuit app. 

In a surprise move, Valve has opened the door for all Dota 2 players to use the Dota Pro Circuit app. The app was previously exclusive to Dota Plus subscribers and was one of the primary selling points of that service.

The app currently has just a handful of features. The most intriguing is a live feed of pro games that shows the action unfolding with a minimap and icons similar to the one from the watch tab. There is also a robust offering of stats that give a good look at the action even without the need to watch the full game.

There is a newly added section that includes the standings for each region, showing the win-loss record for each team in both divisions. Finally, there is a “tournament” section that includes the full schedule of upcoming games for each league.

Opening the app up to players that aren’t Dota Plus subscribers is a welcome change, though it continues what has been a decrease in emphasis on Dota Plus by Valve. Anyone new to the app will likely be taken aback by its shoddy state at the moment. Though it’s a potentially useful tool for fans that want to keep track of the entire pro scene on the go, the UI is undeniably clumsy and there are several apparent bugs.

Most importantly, two of the most engaging features of the DPC app are currently disabled. Fantasy Dota 2 is not available despite having a committed following and being a major part of The International Battle Pass each year. The predictions feature, which allowed users to wager Dota Plus shards on the outcomes of pro games, is also currently disabled. It is unclear when, or if, these features might come back online.

How do you predict Dota Pro Circuit games in the app?

At present, players can’t use the predictions feature in the Dota Pro Circuit app. Originally, players were able to wager Dota Plus shards on the outcomes of matches in Dota Pro Circuit events. This was a strong way of farming shards, and also increasing fan engagement with the Dota 2 esports scene. While this would fit perfectly into the current Dota Pro Circuit landscape, Valve didn’t have this ready for the start of the season.

The feature is still present on the Dota Pro Circuit app, but is inaccessible. That suggests that Valve may be planning to bring it back at some point, though this is far from guaranteed.