B/R Weekly Rushdown: Valve Sued over Skin Betting Again, the Esports Cold War
Did everyone have a good Christmas? Because the Counter-Strike world didn't. While players in other games and developers of other titles had the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the season, CS:GO was shaken up from top to bottom.
A "cold war" (as coined by Turner Sports contributing editor Richard Lewis) has broken out across the game's competitive scene and hovering over all that is another major lawsuit being leveled against the game's publisher, Valve.
So, boys and girls, buckle in for a controversy-heavy issue of the Rushdown.
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PEA, TSM and an Esports Cold War
One of the biggest esports stories of the year was the creation of the Professional Esports Association (PEA). Formed in September by seven of the biggest western organizations in all of esports, the PEA sought to take esports to a new level with an organized effort that reflects the NFL or MLB, rather than territory-era professional wrestling.
But of course, the first step in making an omelette is to break a few eggs.
Last week, esports veteran Scott "SirScoots" Smith posted an open letter to Medium.com, which was signed by 25 players from the PEA's seven teams alleging that the PEA was attempting to force its players into an exclusive circuit by, functionally, trying to force the ESL Pro League (a prominent esports league) out of North America. According to Smith, this comes against the wishes of the players and against the past promises of the association's brass.
Things escalated quickly from there, with Team SoloMid becoming the focus of much of the attention.
On Thursday, TSM rifler Sean Gares stated on Twitter that he was released from the team due to his connections to the post. TSM owner Andy "Reginald" Dinh fired back, saying that Gares had "misled and manipulated" his teammates into joining the letter, damaged TSM's brand immediately after joining the team and added that Gares wasn't fired but "expressed he would prefer to leave TSM."
According to DotEsports.com's Callum Leslie, all of Gares' former teammates have since come to his defense, with two stating that they would leave the team if Gares was indeed released.
The next day, Immortals CEO and PEA player relations executive Noah Whinston made a Medium post of his own, acknowledging that "we could and should have done better" in negotiating with the players over the exclusivity and stating that the players will now have some manner of control over their fates. What comes next for the PEA, however, remains vague.
This dispute has become a crossroads for a multitude of issues in esports, ranging from players' rights to the overly crowded schedule in games like CS:GO to the rapidly changing roles of teams, leagues, publishers and more.
While Whinston's open letter was penned with the intention of closing the door on this topic, it feels unlikely that this is the end of this story.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Release Date Projection
The next installment in the storied Marvel vs. Capcom franchise was announced at the PlayStation Experience earlier this month after months of rumors, but few details are known outside a minute-long teaser trailer.
While the game is still largely mysterious, Capcom producer Tomoaki Ayano gave Japan's 4Gamer an estimated time of arrival (via EventHubs.com), stating that the title would launch "in the latter half of 2017."
That's a good tidbit of information, but he also added:
"The cornerstone of fighting games themselves, Street Fighter, has its 30th anniversary next year. We at Capcom are very proud of this memorable occasion. Everyone reading 4Gamer, and anyone who's a Street Fighter fan, get as excited as you're capable of for this upcoming year, and please look forward to it!
"
Does that mean something is coming down the pipe? Fans will just have to wait and see.
Another Skin-Betting Lawsuit
Skin-betting may be gone, but its effects are still being felt across CS:GO's ecosystem...and by its publisher's legal team. According to a statement by Top Class Actions (h/t DotEsports.com's Sam Nordmark), Valve Corp. is being hit by its second class-action lawsuit of the year over what plaintiffs allege to be illegal gambling.
For those who haven't been keeping up on the Weekly Rushdown, skin betting is the practice of wagering in-game items (often called "skins") on the results of esports matches. While never endorsed or even acknowledged by Valve, skin betting became a billion-dollar industry and became a major part of the culture surrounding CS:GO. Despite its popularity, however, it was a steady source of controversy in the game's community.
In June, a lawsuit was filed against Valve, claiming the company "knowingly allowed, supported, and/or sponsored illegal gambling by allowing millions of Americans to link their individual Steam accounts to third- party websites." This prompted Valve to mobilize its legal team against a number of skin-betting sites in July, which has largely dried the market up. The initial case was dismissed in October.
This new lawsuit does not seem all that different from the first one, but it will be worth keeping an eye on how this shakes out.
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