Valve confirms teams like SkinRave cannot use name, branding in licensed events

Valve has confirmed to Dust2.us that following the recent changes to their Tournament Operating Requirements (TOR) and Limited Game Tournament License, teams that share branding with companies that use Valve IP in an unauthorized manner (for example game case opening sites or skin trading sites) will not be allowed to use that branding in licensed tournaments. With this, tournament operators are expected to remove the offending branding from broadcasts in order to maintain compliance with Valve's requirements.

The most notable team this change affects is undoubtedly SkinRave, with the North American organization sharing its branding with parent website SkinRave.gg. As the CS2 case unboxing site runs afoul of Valve's IP requirements, it cannot be shown on broadcast, with the effect trickling down to the Counter-Strike 2 team as well.

Valve clarified that any events that applied for a Limited Game Tournament License before the recent changes will not need to comply with the new terms, however any events that apply for licenses beyond 2025 will need to restrict and block unauthorized uses of Valve's IP.

The overall impact of this change should be relatively minor as few teams in the current CS ecosystem are named after skins or case-opening sites, although it should thoroughly dissuade any future teams from signing sponsorship deals that tie their name to case opening, skins trading, or third-party Steam key websites.