Smaller organizations were reportedly the most impacted, earning much less sticker money compared to previous Majors.
HLTV’s report details the first wave of impact that the new sticker sales system has had on the CS2 ecosystem. Changed for the recent IEM Cologne Major, sticker prices are now determined by popular demand, rather than obtained through loot boxes or “capsules”.
The result is that the price for certain team stickers has skyrocketed to thousands of US dollars.
While previously teams would make money depending on what capsule they found their own stickers in, now stickers are purchased individually with price based on demand.
Multiple teams attending the recent Major, including SINNERS, reported having made much less revenue than they expected, drastically affecting their bottom line abruptly and with little warning.
Additionally, sticker revenue is now mandated by Valve to be split 50/50 between teams and players, according to HLTV’s report, when they were previously negotiated within player contracts, leading to potential conflicts within organizations.
New York lawsuit looming in the background
Valve’s decision to overhaul the sticker sales system comes amidst a lawsuit against them, with the charge that they are enabling gambling to a young audience in the state of New York.
Valve recently has started to move away from the “loot box” model, introducing terminals which offers a fixed price for particular skins.
It is worth considering whether Valve’s removal of capsules from this Major cycles (and presumably futurue ones) is part of their strategy to move away from claims of gambling against their practices.
