Mentioned in this article Games: Vainglory

One of the biggest esports events in the world—The International—may be moved away from the United States in the face of visa uncertainty from recent moves by the U.S. government to regulate immigration. This includes, but is not limited to, an executive order signed by President Trump that has seen multiple professional esports players prevented from entering the country.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Any pressure on visas for getting into the United States is worrisome for us.”[/perfectpullquote]

At a roundtable discussion with journalists at Valve’s headquarters in Seattle, Gabe Newell—the company’s founder—and Erik Johnson talked openly about concerns with potential immigration changes in the United States. Valve has been working hard with state authorities to acquire visas for players as they travel to Seattle to compete in the massive event. Now that the visa program may be changing, Valve is considering moving the event elsewhere.

“Any pressure on visas for getting into the United States is worrisome for us,” said Johnson per VentureBeat, “Ideally, we’d hold [the event] here. There’re a lot of advantages to it being close to our office. But the events going to happen. So yes, if [acquiring visas for players becomes] too difficult, we’d have to find a way.”

Newell elaborted, explaining how, despite recent gains entering the mainstream in the last few years, esports still isn’t big enough to get exceptions from authorities.

“This is a case where your average esports competitor does not look like — y’know, if you’re an opera singer, it’s pretty easy to get a visa,” said Newell, “The State Department kinda understands who these people are. If you’re a Nobel prize winner, they kinda know who you are. When you’re an unemployed [teenager from Syria] without strong ties to this country, it’s more challenging.”

The executive order is currently facing multiple legal challenges, and its unclear where the policy will end up. However, even uncertainty about the future is enough to throw plans into chaos. As we outlined in a story about Vainglory player Hamza “IraqiZorro” Najim, strict limits on immigration can seriously alter the course of a career.