Leaked Dota 2 game files suggest new Battle Pass event

For Dota 2 players, May is the month of the Battle Pass. For the past five years, Valve has released its annual Dota 2 Battle Pass this month and has just shown signs of doing so again this year.

In a post on r/Dota2, Reddit user u/WellisCute posted an image of the new game files added to the Dota 2 client in an update on May 4th. The update wasn't a major one and didn't have any patch notes accompanying it. As such, it was assumed to be just another localization patch by the community.

But the Reddit post suggests that Valve covertly added something bigger to Dota 2. The image of the game files clearly suggests an upcoming Greeviling Event.

The leaked game files in question (Image via u/WellisCute on Reddit)

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What is The Greeviling Event in Dota 2?

The Greeviling Event was released in 2012 as part of a larger Frostivus Christmas special event.

The Greeviling game mode is based on regular All Pick. But all the towers remain invulnerable, and creeps do not spawn in this mode. The primary objective of the players is to kill a certain amount of Greevils during the game.

Starting 30 seconds into the game and approximately every 3 minutes after that, three random jungle camps will spawn a "Megagreevil." These creeps can cast spells and are accompanied by Greevil minions. They get stronger and increase in numbers as the game goes on.

To win the game, players must get 11 last hits on the last Greevil in a jungle camp. Damage done to the camp or the total number of Greevil killed does not matter.

At the start of the game, players are also given a Greevil Whistle, an item that allows players to switch between their hero and their very own Greevil. The player's Greevil also gets stronger as the game goes on and can take on new spells and items upon killing Megagreevils.

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The 2021 Battle Pass

The timing of these files being added to the game suggests that the Greeviling event will most likely be part of the 2021 Dota 2 Battle Pass. The community immediately made the connection and showed its anticipation for the event.

The community is eagerly anticipating the Battle Pass (Image via u/WellisCute on Reddit)

Another reaction to the news (Image via u/WellisCute on Reddit)

Fans speculating about the event (Image via u/WellisCute on Reddit)

Fans were willing to spend whatever necessary to get their hands on the Dota 2 BP (Image via u/WellisCute on Reddit)

Additionally, this is not the first time Valve has pre-emptively added files for upcoming content to Dota 2. Files for Aghanim's Labyrinth event were added before the Battle Pass' release last year as well.

Last year's battle pass was released on the 24th of May which was the latest Valve has ever released the battle pass for the last 5 years. Hopefully, the community will be rewarded with the highly anticipated Battle Pass sooner this year.