The Dota 2 Secret Shop has been closed by Valve, without any word on plans to re-open, two days after the web portal for this year’s International merch opened its doors. And some fans hope this could be the end of Valve’s merchandising partnership with WeLoveFine.
Earlier this week, Valve announced the Secret Shop had opened its doors ahead of TI7. The web portal has been a popular destination for Dota 2 fans in recent years, particularly those who can’t make the trip to Seattle for the annual world championship tournament. The shop offers an assortment of goods, from personal apparel and home decor to collectables and PC peripherals. But many fans outside the United States found themselves staring down shipping rates that seemed more than a bit unfair. Some were even asked to spend thousands of dollars on shipping. As the complaints continued to pile up, it became clear Valve would need to step in.
In a new post on the Dota 2 blog, Valve takes full responsibility for the abnormal shipping rates being charged for international Secret Shop orders. The company also confirms it has shuttered the Secret Shop, which is hosted/run by WeLoveFine, and is evaluating potential paths forward.
“Providing merchandise for Dota has never been a profit focused endeavor for us,” Valve wrote. “Our goal has been to give easy access to the greatest number of Dota fans possible so they can show their affiliation with the game we all love. The way it is currently set up makes it really hard for fans to do that, and until we can fix it, we shouldn’t have such an offer on the table.”
It’s unclear if or when we’ll see the Secret Shop return. Redditors were happy to see a response from Valve; however, we still don’t know if or how this might impact merchandise sales at The International when it begins next month. It’s also worth noting the Valve Store, WeLoveFine’s web portal for all merchandise based on Valve IP, is also down for “maintenance.” So it’s possible we’re seeing a rift over something a bit deeper than shipping prices for TI7 merch. We’ve reached out to Valve, seeking clarification on both matters, and have also requested comment from WeLoveFine. We’ll update this post if/when we hear back from one (or both) of the companies.
Dota 2 is available for Windows and OS X. The game’s annual world championship tournament, The International, begins on August 7.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dota 2 news in 2017 and however long Valve continues to support Dota 2 in the years ahead.
