Dota 2 developer Valve is shifting its attention to third-party events to round out the field for The International in 2018.

The change will eliminate the Valve-sponsored format that allows teams to qualify for the biggest esports tournament in the world through two majors ahead of the summer event.

The developers intend to be very active in the new format and will manage schedules and the selection of the third-party events, both majors and minors, prize pools, qualification and any LAN expectations for finals.

Valve has stipulated that majors are expected to feature a prize pool upwards of $500,000 before the developer adds $500,000 of its own. Valve will also match the $150,000 required for minors.

The events are also required to include participants from each of the primary dota 2 regions: North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"We will be taking a more organic approach to growing the competitive ecosystem, working more closely with third-party tournaments," Valve said in a statement. "Additionally, players competing in these tournaments will earn Qualifying Points, which will be the sole factor in determining invites to The International 2018."

Teams will earn points toward qualifying based on money earned from events. As expected, majors will be worth more than minors on the path to The International. The top three players on each team will be the focus of the qualifying points as Valve wants to promote more consistency in the rosters while still allowing room for a few shakeups.

All of the qualification information - points, standings, etc. - will be available to the public.

"To help teams and fans keep track of standings throughout the year, a leaderboard of individual player Qualifying Points and team Qualifying Point Rankings will be available for everyone to follow along with as teams fight their way towards next year's International," Valve said in a statement.

Valve has not yet confirmed how many qualifying majors and minors it intends to sponsor in the coming year.