Valve Rejects Player Autographs Before the Major

Just days before the StarLadder Major Budapest 2025, Counter-Strike 2 players and fans are upset after Valve reportedly rejected a large number of player autograph designs for the game’s upcoming Major stickers.

These in-game autographs are a big deal in CS2, players earn money from sticker capsule sales, and fans love collecting them as a show of support. But this year, many pros say their new designs were rejected without clear reasons, and some are being forced to reuse their old ones.

Players Speak Out on Social Media

FURIA’s Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis was one of the first to share the news on Telegram.

Valve rejected the funniest YEKINDAR sticker so far😭

“Sticker’s rejected, they said they’ll take the design from a past major”. pic.twitter.com/SUtDlPNpxo

— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) November 2, 2025

Kamil “siuhy” Schkaradek from Team Liquid had a similar experience, saying on X:

last two majors, both of these stickers got rejected. just so they don’t go to waste, i will enjoy them here. i can’t upload a new one so i’ll have the same as last time 😶‍🌫️ pic.twitter.com/MGTVegUuHf

— Kamil Szkaradek (@siuhycs) November 2, 2025

Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek from NRG went into more detail, saying Valve didn’t explain anything.

i think its pretty obvious

— merkwy (@merkwey) November 2, 2025

Other players like Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato and João “snow” Vinicius also complained about their rejections, with KSCERATO posting:

Please accept my new sticker @valvesoftware @CounterStrike its not AI. I used to be an artist 😭

— KSCERATO (@kscerato) October 31, 2025

Sticker recusado novamente kkkkk, tentei fazer uma homenagem pro meu vô e pro meu pai mas n aceitaram q tristeza 🥲 pic.twitter.com/CbSyx63mq7

— paiN Snow ❄️ (@Snowzincs) November 2, 2025

Fans Mock Valve’s Strict Rules

The backlash quickly spread online. A Reddit post titled “Valve seems to be rejecting a lot more sticker designs this year” gained thousands of upvotes, with players and fans debating whether Valve’s rules were too harsh.

According to Valve, signatures must be hand-drawn, look like something players could sign on a fan’s mousepad, and take no longer than 5–10 seconds to write.

But fans think the rule is killing creativity. One Reddit user joked:

“Might as well just use Arial font at this point.”

Another user, @dingleCS2, shared a fake set of overly simple “Valve-approved” designs for players like ZywOo, REZ, snow, and KSCERATO, poking fun at how boring they could look under the new rules.

Made some autograph designs, following valve autograph guidelines! W or L? pic.twitter.com/rlAEAp0f8K

— dingle (@dingleCS2) November 2, 2025

Community Divided Over Valve’s Decision

The community is split. Some agree with Valve’s idea of keeping signatures “real” and easy to reproduce, while others say the stickers should be more creative and fun since they’re digital, not real-life autographs.

One fan wrote:

“Nobody’s buying these for realism. We like them because they’re cool and show the player’s personality.”

Others reminded that in the past, Valve allowed unique and fun autographs, like Karrigan’s bat drawing and chopper’s anime-style hat, which made stickers more special to collect.

Now, players and fans say the crackdown is removing that personal touch, turning creative designs into plain handwriting.

Why Valve Might Be Doing This

Some believe Valve wants to stop players from hiring outside artists to make their signatures, or to avoid issues with AI and copyrighted designs. Others think it’s about making the process faster and fairer for everyone.

But the lack of clear communication is the real problem. With no explanation or feedback system, many pros are left guessing why their designs were rejected, and fans are left disappointed.

Looking Ahead to the StarLadder Major

The StarLadder Major Budapest 2025 is set to be one of the biggest CS2 events of the year, but this sticker drama is taking attention away from the competition itself.

Until Valve explains its decisions or loosens the rules, players may lose part of their income, and the game may lose some of its creative charm.

The post Valve Rejects CS2 Player Autographs Before StarLadder Major, Fans and Pros Outraged appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sonic Superstars brings back that classic 2D feel with lightning fast gameplay.

Doctor Eggman is again up to no good imprisoning the cute and fluffies sending out his henchmen to entrap as many as he can.

Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles must speed through multi tiered levels to stop them.

Collecting Rings ensures your survival and a better score after each level, known as Acts.

And each level has varying Acts to them.

Chaos emeralds also feature in Sonic Superstars but to get these you need to enter a portal, which can be anywhere within an Act and then swing your way to the Emerald before the timer runs out. Tricky.

There’s mini games dotted throughout too. Again these are accessed via portals in an Act and some have the ability to clone Sonic (or your chosen character) to get through the challenge.

Sonic Superstars has three game modes; Story, Battle and Time Attack.

Battle is an online or offline single or multiplayer series of mini games with differing challenges. A lot of fun and some, a little weird. But good weird.

For me it was the main story mode that not only gave me those childhood feels of the Sonic games I played back in the day but also offered up excellent play with any or all of the characters playable art any time.

Classic Sonic, reimagined, reworked and this one is totally replayable., Sonic Superstars is simple to play, challenging for Sonic veterans and a whole lot of fast-paced super-fun

The post Sonic Superstars (Xbox Series X|S) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Calling all superstars – it’s time to jump into a brand-new Sonic gaming experience.

SEGA has revealed Sonic Superstars, Sonic the Hedgehog’s latest adventure bringing a new standard of play to classic high-speed 2D Sonic platforming.

Sonic and his friends’ journey starts on the beautiful North Star Islands, a mystical place offering never-before-seen environments, as well as a mysterious story waiting to unfold. Enormous creatures, exhilarating adventures, and evil plans from Dr. Eggman await Sonic and his friends, who can now obtain brand-new abilities known as the Emerald Powers when Chaos Emeralds are collected.

Sonic Superstars is set to release in Spring 2023, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.

Harness the Emerald Powers to take on Dr. Eggman in dynamic new ways and stop him from converting the island’s animals into Badniks before it’s too late.

The post SEGA Announces Sonic Superstars appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The one and only blue spiked speedster is back again in Sonic Frontiers.

From Action mode to Speed style you’re in for one excellent ring collecting lightning fast adventure.

Dr. Robotnik is up to no good once again, trying to harness the power of the Ancients. But it doesn’t quote go according to his plan.

Ripples and portals cause chaos throughout their world with Sonic being the key to undoing the glitches that continue to appear.

Tails and Amy have been lost somewhere in this glitching cyber space on what is your free-to explore Starfall Islands, so Sonic must locate all Chaos Emeralds and defeat all Titans to save them and restore normality.

But to get the Chaos Emeralds you’ll need to complete challenges to obtain Vault Keys.

Levels and core gameplay are exactly what we have come to know and love from latter Sonic games.

A 3D multi-tiered environment with speed boosts, enemies to chain attack, switches, pullies with red star and rings to grab.

Perform homing attacks on foes to gain Skill Pieces. Get enough of these and you can teach an old Sonic new tricks via a Skill tree.

Larger baddies, such as Guardians will drop items that are crucial to you being able to move forward and progress through the map, that you will reveal bit by bit. A certain number of items maybe required for you to unlock a portal to the Digital Dimension, where there’s a level challenge waiting.

The portal levels are short and almost like the Sonic of old. You are scored at the end of each Digital Dimension round on time taken, rings collected and any bonuses or hidden goodness you may have found.

Sonic Frontiers promotes wide exploration of the Islands. From rails to grind on and air based Rings to power through, Sonic has a few new moves, such as the Cyloop which you will use Sonic’s blue power to draw shapes in order to complete an objective.

Overall Sonic Frontiers is one hell of a ride where you just feel the need for speed in everything you do.

Sega have added an alternative spin mixed with the tried and true signature Sonic feel with Sonic Frontiers, making it a definite for the fans and one of the best Sonic games yet.

The post Sonic Frontiers (PlayStation 5) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The clock is ticking as you dash, jump, spin, loop, collect up Rings and defeat Eggman’s foes in a remake of Sonic Colors.

Originally released on Nintendo Wii back in 2010 the game infused the crazy speed of Sonic with, well, colourful bursts as you jetted from platform to rail, grinding to leaping.

Eggman (previously known as Dr. Robotnik in the 90’s) has been trying to defeat Sonic and his pals for decades with cyber-mech like contraptions but this time round it looks as though Eggman is getting old and soft.

He has created an interstellar Amusement Park and kindly invited Sonic and his gang to try it out.

Nothing suspicious about that, right?

Each Level records your play time, you can rip through to try and get that best time – or if you prefer, explore a bit and collect up secrets and as many rings as you possibly can.

Gameplay goes from 3D to 2D in a seamless environmentally specific Level.

Sonic Colors introduced a new thing called Wisps.

These enable Sonic to reach higher areas – all Levels in Sonic Colors Ultimate are multi-tiered.

This remaster; Sonic Colors Ultimate not only has a new soundtrack, super enhanced visuals, it also brings in Jade Ghost Wisps power ups from Sonic Racing which allows you to pass through solid obstacles.

If you’re a fan of Sonic, like me, you most likely love being able to get up to ridiculous blinding speeds in play.

Sonic Colors Ultimate sure does that, and does hearken back to to the likes of the very original Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 on Sega Genesis / Megadrive. However, the build of some of the Levels break this.

You can be on a seemingly non-stoppable fly-through when boom – you hit a path that slows everything down.

If you’re one to take your time and explore it’s not going to bother you too much, but if you’re trying to go for a timed record and just want to blitz through these stoppers can be a bit annoying.

Still, Sonic Colors has always been one of my top favs in the Sonic series, it was infact the only game I went out and got a Nintendo Wii for, 11 years ago.

From legions of baddies to epic sized bosses Sonic Colors Ultimate really is the ultimate celebration of Sonic having turned 30 years old.

The post Sonic Colors Ultimate (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sonic fans, get ready to Colour the Universe.

As part of Sonic Central, SEGA unveiled Sonic Colours: Ultimate, an adrenaline-pumping upgrade on the iconic 2010 platformer, Sonic Colours.

Developed by the award-winning studio, Blind Squirrel Entertainment, Sonic Colours: Ultimate brings a fresh hue to the celebrated game with stunning visuals, additional features, a new mode, and improved gameplay enhancements, providing players the ultimate Sonic experience.

To celebrate the news, SEGA has released an action-packed new trailer (above) providing fans a glimpse into the bright, 4K, intergalactic adventure.

Join Sonic in the high-speed adventure of a lifetime.

The evil Dr. Eggman has built a gigantic interstellar amusement park bursting with incredible rides and colourful attractions – but he is powering it with a captured alien race called “Wisps.” Use Sonic’s lightning speed to free the Wisps and learn the secrets of their amazing powers as you explore six unique colourful worlds, each filled with dangerous enemies and hurdles to overcome.

Sonic will be tested on this exciting journey to free the Wisps, whose mystical powers can be harnessed to grant special abilities – and with their help, and yours, it is a test he’ll pass with flying Colours.

Now with stunning upscaled visuals, additional features, a new game mode, and enhanced gameplay – it is the Ultimate Sonic Colours experience.

Sonic Colours: Ultimate is set to release on 7th September 2021 on PlayStation 4, Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch.

For a limited time, Sonic fans can pre-order the Sonic Colours: Ultimate physical edition and get an exclusive baby Sonic keychain.

The post SEGA RELEASING SONIC COLOURS: ULTIMATE appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The blue devil, Sonic the Hedgehog gets his own live action film.

From Paramount Pictures is The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie which as it’s namesake, follows the adventures of SEGA’s classic mascot and video gaming icon, Sonic the Hedgehog.

The narrative takes us back to a young Sonic (Ben Schwartz) living in his own world with Longclaw the Owl as his Guardian who encourages Sonic to hide his blistering speedy powers.

Sonic however picks up the attention of some bad echidnas and his Guardian gives herself up to save Sonic.

She gives Sonic a bag of Gold Rings, these open portals to differing Worlds.

Sonic escapes and chooses Earth to be his home. Green Hills in fact (…for those that know the Sonic video games).

Sonic lives his own life in secret and hiding as best as he can from the humans that live out their lives in the small American town.

He ‘befriends’ the local Sheriff, Tom (James Marsden) who Sonic appropriately names Donut Lord, also in secret.

But Sonic’s blistering speed and nocturnal activities hasn’t gone unnoticed…

Doctor Ivo Robotnik (or Eggman) has suspected there was an otherworldly creature residing somewhere in small town America.

After a Super Sonic power burst knocks out all electricity in the surrounding State the U.S. military are alerted to a potential ‘threat’ in the Green Hills area (yup almost wrote Zone).

They call in Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his henchmen armed with deadly futuristic tech.

After Sonic enlists the aide of Tom they both go on the run.

The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie was a lot better than I ever expected it to be.

I’m sure most remember the very first film trailer with a lanky looking Sonic resembling that creepy guy at the bar.

After a full CGI revamp Sonic is looking, well, more like Sonic.

The film is a mix of both light hearted humour and high action moments with something for kids, adults and of course Sonic the Hedgehog fans.

Throughout the film I was wondering where Tails was… oh wait THERE he is.

The post Sonic (Paramount Pictures – 2020) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

One of the crossovers that always feels so wrong is seeing Mario and Sonic in a game together.

I am of that right age where these two mascots seemed like mortal enemies that would fight until one was bitterly left in a mess on the side of the road praying for the sweet relief of… well that got dark quickly. Yet in 2007 the two competed side by side in the Wii game Mario & Sonic at Beijing Olympics, and since then they have been brought side by side at the Olympics many more times. As with many other Nintendo exclusives, the Switch release was my first dabbling with this series, and I certainly enjoyed it enough.

At its core Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a huge collection of mini games for each of the upcoming events at next years Olympics. What this means is there is a huge variety in games, and as you may expect this means that none of them are perfect. Each game tends to be based on simple mechanics so you can jump in and have a blast because trying to master that many games if they were complicated would be near impossible which wouldn’t work when it comes to a party game. This means games like the Rugby 7s you basically pass and run with the ball. As a rugby game this isn’t complicated, but as a fun party game it works because it only takes minutes to understand how to play.

Skateboarding, because that’s apparently an Olympic game too now, is the same where you basically aim the skateboard around the park, time jumping and landing to boost your speed while slightly varying tricks. Like with the Rugby 7s it’s simple but in the context of playing a party game it needs to be. that You are likely going to switch between events regularly and the last thing you want is a 20-minute tutorial with a few hours to get the hand of it.

The games that work the best are the simpler sport such as long jump, running and the javelin throw. Where running requires mashing a button faster or swinging in the joy-con if using the movement controls. Javelin and long jump do the same with a quick moment of timing required to execute the final move. These are especially entertaining when it comes to a group of people because again, it’s easy to explain, easy to get the hang of, and fun as hell when you fail with a group of family or friends. The huge variety of games means that even when I played with the family for a few hours we didn’t even come close to playing every minigame on offer.

Because these are the second Olympics held in Tokyo, there is even a 1964 Olympic games option. This has a handful of games where the characters are using their original designs and the games themselves looking like they belong of that era, that’s the 80s / 90s era when these games kicked off, not 1964 before they all existed. It’s a fun throwback that couldn’t feel more appropriate for the two icons leading this game and a welcome addition to the collection.

There is a story mode which was far from my favourite bit. Basically Mario, Sonic, Bowser and Robotnik get sucked into a gaming machine where they go into classic mode to compete in the 1964 games activities while they try to get out. On the outside the other characters try to get them out and must compete in the 2020 activities as they get other characters to join them on their quest. There is an overworld which was tedious to travel around and a lot of the dialogue, especially in the 1964 stages which take far too long with little to offer. I got especially bored in a scene where Sonic was pacing and pausing in many moments looking for Robotnik behind a tree. The story mode would have been greatly enhanced by it having chapters in a list with the dialogue popping up before and after an event.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is an excellent collection of mini games that would absolutely suit a party session, or a fun rainy Sunday for the family. Some of the harder modes like Gymnastics which requires fast button prompting take a while to get any good at, while running is super easy to jump in and win at. The Joy-con options are the best way to play some modes but using the controls will still provide plenty of value for anyone looking to fill that silly mini game void in their hearts.

Don’t expect the story mode to blow you away, though.

The post Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sonic and his pals get their mods on and rev up their nitro boosts.

Team Sonic Racing has blasted its way on to our gaming consoles, including the mighty Nintendo Switch.

Multiplayer and single Kart racing mayhem offers up more of what we are used to in a Kart racer, but there’s a few differences this time round.

Game modes offer up Team Adventure (Story), Local Play (Single or Multiplayer) and Online Multiplayer – with additional sub categories such as Single Race and Time trial.

From the main games menu you can also check out your Stats and tune your ride.

Burn up the differing tracks on offer – each being signature to the Sonic Universe, collect Rings and Power Ups throughout each track and of course aim to beat the best Time or place in the top three at the finishing line.

But you are not only racing just for yourself – Team Sonic Racing is really all about your team. Depending on which character you choose will reflect who your other two other in-game team members are.

To really get a decent score and enough credits to purchase modifications for your Kart, you and your team mates must all place in the top three for each race.

If you feel that one team member maybe struggling you are able to offer them a power up to help them along (providing you have one).

The story is a bit shallow, but there is one. At the onset Sonic’s eternal nemesis, Eggman is missing from the line-up of racer contenders.

Instead a character by the name of Dodon Pa has invited Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and the rest of the crew to a special series of races – where the winner will get to keep their rides.

However, the Sonic gang keen to participate are also very suspicious. That suspicion rises as they begin to notice a few similarities between this mysterious Dodon Pa and Eggman…

There are also side races to be had and keys to be collected to unlock more tracks. While you do about a map headed from race to race, you can stray of the linear path and do some side activities, which unlocks even more in-game goodness and of course applies more bounty for you to spend on customizations.

Team Sonic Racing is a lot of fun, as all Kart games can be. Best played in multiplayer, either on or offline, this title has a high replay value and while I reviewed on PS4, games such as this are an excellent investment for the Switch – as they can have quick play and extended play options.

Team Sonic Racing is a total overdrive of social and solo play.

The post Team Sonic Racing (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

At SXSW, SEGA hosted their annual, “Gotta Go Fast: The Official Sonic the Hedgehog” panel, where the Sonic team discussed new elements from the forthcoming arcade-style racing experience, Team Sonic Racing, and how they’ve developed an iconic style of music for the Sonic franchise. Panel speakers included Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka, Sr. Community Manager Aaron Webber, Director of Product Development Austin Keys, Sonic Series Composer Jun Senoue and TV Animation Production Coordinator Jasmin Hernandez.

One of the main highlights of the panel was the reveal of the first full episode of Team Sonic Racing Overdrive, a two-part series developed by Tyson Hesse and Neko Productions that takes on a similar animation style as the popular Sonic Mania Adventures web series. The first episode will feature Team Sonic, Team Rose and Team Dark as they face off at Wisp Circuit.

The SXSW panel also revealed a sneak peek at the customisation elements available in Team Sonic Racing as well as playful music from the game’s Bingo Party racetrack. On top of that, attendees experienced a vibrant remixed song from the critically acclaimed 2018 Animation, “Sonic Mania Adventures”, by Tee Lopes.

You can check out the best ways to customise your ride for the upcoming Team Sonic Racing in this new spotlight episode featuring Sonic Series Producer Takashi Iizuka. Explore the customisation menu to get a peek at how to obtain and use mod pods, power-ups and other personalisation options like paint job alterations, new vehicle skins and custom horns. By earning in-game credits, players can venture to the garage to unlock parts for the front of their car, the rear or the wheels, allowing for alterations to the vehicle’s performance and handling.

SEGA has released another upbeat anthem for Team Sonic Racing by Sonic Series Composer, Jun Senoue with Japanese electronic music artist, TORIENA. Set to the racer’s “Bingo Party” map, this song is what winning sounds like.

To close the panel, Takashi Iizuka confirmed that Sonic Team had begun production on the next major Sonic the Hedgehog title.

Developed by award-winning studio Sumo Digital, Team Sonic Racing is the ultimate arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing experience, featuring your favourite characters and environments from across the Sonic Universe. Race together and win together in online multiplayer or local co-op mode utilising the dynamic team mechanics and vehicle customisation features to dash across the finish line. Team Sonic Racing is set to release on 21st of May 2019 on Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

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