Image: Valve
Valve has issued new rules for Counter-Strike 2 esports, making all team payments public and banning franchised tournaments.
Valve has dropped a new set of rules for Counter-Strike esports, which seemingly in anticipation of Counter-Strike 2's impending arrival. The developer said in a statement that the game is, “at its best when teams compete on a level playing field and when ability is the only limit to their success,” but recently, “we’ve seen professional Counter-Strike drift away from that ideal.”
Valve wants Counter-Strike to be an ‘open sport’ where players can more easily access higher levels of competition, which have in recent years become, “increasingly gated by business relationships.” To achieve this, the company has added three new requirements for anyone running large-scale competitive events like esports tournaments.
The first is that tournament organisers can no longer have business relationships with their participating teams, or any other conflicts of interest that may get in the way of transparent competition. This will affect esports events where teams can pay a fee for a direct invite into the tournament, instead of getting a spot based on skill alone. The ESL Pro League for example, has a ‘Louvre Agreement’ that allows it to partner up with specific teams for guaranteed participation slots and shared revenue.
The more slots get taken up by bigger teams due to these business dealings, the less slots there are left for smaller teams who have to earn their spot the old-fashioned way. Valve’s second requirement is that all Counter-Strike tournaments now have to use the developer’s own ranking system, or otherwise be determined by open qualifiers. This seems to be another way of ensuring that tournament organisers aren’t allowed to bring in teams of their own accord, and instead adhere to the flow of competitive sport.
Finally, Valve now requires tournament organisers to make their compensation for participating teams public, even beyond the usual prize pool and driven by, “objective criteria that can be inspected by the community.” Again, this is another way for Valve to ensure that competitions roll out more transparently, and without business deals affecting their outcome whatsoever.
Valve warns that these requirements are just ‘the broad strokes’ in its announcement, saying that, “the finer details are still in progress.” The developer also acknowledges that some organisers have long-term commitments already in place, so these requirements will only take effect starting from 2025. The developer notes:
There will be some rough edges to the transition, but we’re committed to the long-term health of Counter-Strike as a sport and are looking forward to its bright and open future.
Valve is still working on Counter-Strike 2 via its ongoing Limited Test, adding new content like revamped maps and UI updates in anticipation of its Summer 2023 launch window. The Limited Test recently added the 2v2 game mode Wingman and the sequel’s first overhauled map, Overpass.