Valve makes crucial change to CS2 player autograph stickers for Copenhagen Major

Players don't know how to feel about it.

Player holding Glock with FURIA PGL Antwerp sticker on Vertigo
Image via Valve

The PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major is quickly approaching, with the first day of action scheduled for March 17. As a result, fans are anticipating players’ autograph stickers, and it turns out there’s been a crucial change to them.

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Apparently, Valve updated the rules regarding the players’ autograph stickers. On March 6, CS2 content creator Thour shared on X (formerly Twitter) that from now on, the autographs have to be written by the players themselves. It’s a vital change, since in the past, some professionals asked graphic designers to develop the autographs for them.

“It should be written by YOU, and not by someone else. It is ok if your autograph doesn’t look amazing, as long as it is yours,” the post reads. On top of that, Valve underlined how it should look similar to when players are signing a mousepad, for example. “It should not take more than 5-10 seconds for you to produce the autograph. […] If someone else has produced your autograph on your behalf, we may reject it,” the post adds.

In-game display of CS:GO sticker Dignitas Holo @ Katowice 2014.
Some stickers have become incredibly rare over the years, and now cost hunderds of dollars. Image via Valve

The community has mixed reactions about the change. Some believe it’s a pointless change that will only make the autographs look worse. “CS players are good at playing CS, not making nice or creative autographs,” one of the comments reads. Others claim it’s for the best, since they’d rather “have the autograph of my favorite players instead of Twitter Graphic Designer #3 like it’s been lately.”

Player autograph stickers are a pivotal part of Majors in the CS ecosystem, since players get a direct share of the revenue made from them. More importantly, it’s a large amount of money. Last year’s BLAST CS:GO Paris Major reportedly made over $110 million from sticker sales. This income is also key to organizations. Australian Grayhound ceased operations shortly after its CS2 team failed to make the Major last week.

With the PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major beginning in two weeks, the stickers should become available in the coming days.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.