There were a lot of shifty games in there, but some legit devs seem to be getting caught in the crossfire.
As noted by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, Valve has requested that all Dota 2 custom game makers cease real-money monetization in their creations by August 17. A number of popular modes for the juggernaut MOBA have already gone offline in response.
The custom game tools in Dota 2 gave rise to a vibrant modding scene, with the most notable example being autobattler genre progenitor Dota Auto Chess. Auto Chess was a straight-up phenomenon when it landed in 2019, and though a bit diminished these days, the genre it spawned is still chugging along.
Some custom games in the Dota 2 arcade possess real money monetization through third party platforms like Paypal or Patreon. Paying the developers outside the game earns you access to the usual microtransactions for cosmetics or, more contentiously, in-game advantages, as well as full-blown battle passes.
Dota 2 Arcade games fall under a non-commercial license, but the characteristically hands-off and laissez faire Valve did not act on the proliferation of real money transactions in the Dota 2 Arcade until now. It seems like a pretty easy call for Valve though, which has had to contend with similar grey market economies in Counter-Strike and TF2.
