After the storm surrounding the Dota 2 community due to a few seemingly racist comments, Valve has released an official statement. In the statement, Valve advises all professional players to keep a check on their language, even if they want to say it in jest. Being a professional player means that every word has an influence on tens of thousands of fans. It is important for the players to behave themselves on a public forum.

Valve’s statement.

You can read the entire statement on the official Dota 2 Blog. In the Blog, Valve talks about the responsibilities that professional players have towards the community. Their words can influence their fanbase in a big way. If they speak in racist overtones, it will influence several thousands of players. In the past weeks, we saw our pub games and normal matchmaking filled with racial overtones due to an example set in a pro match.

The International has always been about bringing fans from diverse cultures all around the world together to celebrate the game we love with one another. Professional players compete year-round, hoping for a chance to prove themselves on the grand stage. They have strong competitive spirits, with high emotions and drive to perform. That’s why we love watching them compete. We’ve always had an approach of letting the players be themselves, and to express themselves freely. That’s how it’s always been for a long time. However, we also expect pro players to understand that they represent the Dota community regardless of where they are. Words carry a lot of meaning. Some people may not agree or understand why certain words are harmful, but it doesn’t make it any less so to those on the receiving end. The language used by multiple players over the last week has caused many of our fans a lot of pain and is not behaviour that we condone.

Game Developer Valve in constant talks with professional players.

Over the past few weeks, Valve’s silence has seen misinterpretations from the community. However, Valve was using that time to talk to professional players and people from the industry. They established a rough idea of what the professional community thinks. At the same time, it was important for Valve to pacify the Chinese Dota 2 community. Multiple pro-Chinese teams, as well as Perfect World, have issued statements in the recent past. They have condemned the racist comments made during the pro matches. It is not right on the past of professional players to use such language, even if it is a joke.

We hope that players and the community around the world will become better educated and more respectful as a result of the recent incidents. We think the communities everywhere around the world want the same things: for our favorite players and teams to do well, and for a great display of Dota. With the group stages over and the playoffs about to begin, we want to wish good luck to all the teams participating. Let’s enjoy some Dota together.

Valve’s stance is bound to pacify the community to a large extent. At the same time, it will lay down guidelines in the future to control players’ behaviour on public forums or at least within the context of a Dota 2 match.