Valve is leaving some teams out of Dota 2 Supporter's Club

William Davis Published 23/06/2021

The Supporter’s Club system is meant to help Dota 2 teams earn revenue outside of tournaments, but not all teams are getting equal treatment from Valve.

In a social media statement, a member of No Bounty Hunter claimed that Valve has ignored their Supporter’s Club submissions for almost a month. They also claimed that many other unsponsored teams have been similarly dismissed. These complaints also give new insight into how Dota 2 teams interact with the game’s developer.

The content offered by Supporter’s Club is generated by the teams themselves with no input from Valve beyond possible rejection. No Bounty Hunter claims to have submitted their Supporter’s Club pack on May 25, shortly before 10 other teams were added. No Bounty Hunter has received no response from Valve aside from a request for revisions, which were submitted shortly afterward. No Bounty Hunter has competed in both seasons of the Western Europe lower division.

“Valve replies sporadically and whenever they want to, there is no consistent form of communication or help. I spoke with people from our local TO (DreamLeague) and they’ve asked Valve about this three weeks ago and got no answer. We were also directed to PGL since they are handling TI quals and seem to have more communication…We were told to just be patient.” said Eduard, a representative of No Bounty Hunter.

According to NBH’s public statement, teams are supposed to use their regional Dota Pro Circuit organizer as a point-of-contact for Valve. Even famous organizers like DreamHack, PGL, and Beyond the Summit have a difficult time reaching Valve.

Almost all of the squads experiencing difficulties with Supporter’s Club compete below the top level. The named rosters include Team Bald Reborn, Winstrike, 5 Man Midas, Team Mystery, Fantastic Five, and LilGun. While not explicitly stated by No Bounty Hunter, Valve appears to be favoring highly competitive teams for Supporter’s Club. Tier-two teams in Dota 2 have less access to funding and artists. The bottom two teams of each lower division walk away empty-handed after six weeks of competitive Dota 2.

For some squads, the Supporter’s Club program has actually lost them money instead of generating it.

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