messioso slams Cologne 2026 sticker revenue model

Valve moved things around and binned the sticker capsule system for IEM Cologne 2026 Major in the pre-Major update. The community- fans, players and other prominent figures in the industry have all sharply critiqued the new in-game store, tokens and the aftermath. Previously, the share of revenue from sticker sales handed to teams was classified according to their status coming into the Major- Challengers, Contenders or Legends.

With the capsules gone, Valve have introduced a new revenue sharing model that leans more towards the merit and performance. Until the Major concludes, the revenue is split according to the VRS positions (seeding) of teams and upon conclusion, the revenue depends on the final placement.

The biggest issue for me is the pre-existing player contracts. In some cases teams are going to be asking players to return the money that Valve sent them because if they don't have a split in the contract, the team will now feel entitled to the money that was given to them, shouldn't have been given to them. In some cases players are going to be asking teams for their split after receiving Valve money themself, so it can go both ways.

In the latest edition of the "Come Here" podcast, HLTV's Nohte dives deep into the Cologne 2026 stickers situation with NER0 and messioso. After talking about the new in-game store mechanism and modified revenue model, messioso explains how the split went down in previous Majors. He points out that previous Majors would allocate splits based on capsule category (teams/autographs) and organizations would get an undivided share of the revenue from viewer pass and souvenir tokens.

The new system decompartmentalizes the revenue, giving a share of revenue from in-game tokens and and viewer pass sales to players too, as messioso predicts that teams would take a bigger hit. "I think its going to be a complete shitshow", says messioso as he goes on to criticize Valve for "dumping it" on teams at the last moment. The trio further discusses about souvenir items, possibility of discounts, dynamic pricing and the popularity of the stickers. Check out the full podcast here: