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Valve Issues Hard-Line Statement on Exclusive CS:GO Leagues

By Noam Radcliffe

Valve has clarified its position on CS:GO leagues and Major broadcasting rights
Valve has clarified its position on CS:GO leagues and Major broadcasting rights /

Valve came down against exclusivity in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive leagues while clarifying its stance on re-streaming Valve-sponsored events in a blog post published Wednesday.

In the blog post, Valve wrote it would not provide a license to operate CS:GO competition to any league that restricted participating teams from attending other events. The developer also expressed misgivings about the conflicts of interest that can arise from leagues with shared ownership.

Valve also clarified that the Major tournament operator is the only party with a license to broadcast the Major in question. The developer also expects the tournament operators to work inclusively with streamers to allow for broadcasts that cover other niches, such as underserved languages.

Valve's blog post comes in the wake of two crucial developments in the CS:GO pro scene. The first is reported exclusivity coming to the ESL Pro League that would prevent teams from playing in other leagues. The second is a flurry of copyright strikes streamers received during the recently concluded StarLadder Berlin Major.

ESL has yet to comment on Valve's newly clarified position regarding exclusivity.

Copyright: ESL | Adela Sznajder