Valve is taking down TI 13 streams, here’s why

Streams for TI 13 are going down left and right as Valve is strangely enforcing its streaming rules after years of letting fans ignore them.

The International is famous for its production value. From bombastic opening ceremonies to top-tier casting, the event is meant to showcase both the best players and personalities across Dota 2 esports. However, many fans prefer to watch along with a streamer. As with most esports, this is generally allowed, and streamers have shared the group stage stream with commentary for years. However, Valve is suddenly cracking down and taking such streams off the air.

More than a few Reddit threads have signaled the ire of the community, but is Valve in the right to take down TI 13 streams?

Why is Valve taking down TI 13 streams?

Valve is only taking down TI 13 streams that use the official streams as part of its established tournament streaming rules. 

Valve’s own terms and conditions explicitly state that third-party streamers are not allowed to use the official stream as a base for their content. Instead, they must use in-game footage taken from Dota TV. The reason why is that Valve pays for casters, observers, analysts, hosts, and more to work at The International and give it the best presentation it can have. If streamers use Valve’s own Twitch stream, they are unfairly benefitting from the company’s expenditures.

While the rule has been in place for years, Valve has typically not enforced it. However, for unknown reasons, the company has chosen to clamp down during this year’s International. Note that certain TI 13 features like in-game casters and observers are still available for Dota TV streams. Content outside of the game, such as analysis and between-game content, is locked to only the official stream. Here are a few of the big streamers affected by this change.

• Janne “Gorgc” Stefanovski
• Max “qojqva” Bröcker
• Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetsov
• Danil “Dendi” Ishutin

Valve’s interference was allegedly confirmed by Gorgc during his stream, though no clip is available. Fans claim that Artour “Arteezy” Babaev of all people sent a warning to Gorgc about Valve’s enforcement before he switched to the Dota TV feed. The company may issue a statement later on regarding the change in enforcement policy. Expect the same rules for streams during the main event of TI 13.

Even as TI 13 faces challenges, Dota 2 fans can anticipate the arrival of Ringmaster’s abilities and release date in the game.