SVG: “Nowadays the phrase that Dota is slowly dying is heard from every crevice, and I agree with it”

Caster and former professional player Avery 'SVG' Silverman shared his position on the issue of Dota 2's extinction on the Not For Broadcast podcast, and also spoke out about the inflated salaries of pro players.

Now the phrase that Dota is slowly dying is heard from every crevice, and I agree with it. And everyone I talk to about it says the same thing. Then this interview comes out with Pure, where he talks about the slow death of Dota. And they ask me: “Dude, why are you so pessimistic?” It's like I'm the most pessimistic person at every tournament I work. How can one be optimistic when at each of the last Internationals I hear from SirActionSlacks: “This is our last TI,” - that’s what he’s been saying for five years in a row.

The funny thing is that no one takes responsibility for their words. And I take responsibility for my pessimism, well, a little. I'm not the cause of all this crap, okay? I'm still fighting for the state of Dota. We create content, go to tournaments, broadcast. I play Dota all the time.

Is it so bad to be a pessimist? Many people condemn those who sit and say: “Dota is dying.” I have two counterarguments:

• If people think that Valve has abandoned their game, then they should speak out about it openly. Of course, there is a difference between expressing your own opinion and useless whining. For example, I don’t want to hear useless whining. There's definitely a lot of it in Dota, and it's probably hurting the game. But if you give criticism, back it up with logic and offer real possible solutions or things that can be improved, then I think you should do it. People have invested a lot of time, energy, money and their lives into this game. And if you feel like it's not being handled properly, you have the right to speak out about it. You know, there's nothing wrong with that.
• It's clear that we, as Dota sponsors and contractors, are in a very privileged position that I hope most people don't take for granted. I don't take this for granted. This gives us the added responsibility of using our position to promote the game in a positive way. And I always tried to do this. We should be focusing more on promoting the game through other channels, which I think is what we're doing. Maybe not to the extent that they could or should, but life is life. At least we're doing something. So I don't want to hear that nonsense like, "This guy always sees everything in black terms." After all, I decided to devote my life and career to this game even before I knew that I would be paid for it. And people say, “You get paid for this.” Okay, I spent about four or five years of my career without a paycheck. So why did I do this then? If I was doing it just for the money... I did it because I truly love the game, I love the community that's built around it, Valve's involvement and the direction the game has gone in, that's why I did it.

I've said it a million times: what is the value of a player's salary? What does it actually give to the organization that pays it?

In some esports disciplines, you get some kind of benefit for the brand, some kind of fame, content, streams - whatever. Organizations in Dota get literally nothing other than the fact that this guy will probably win a tournament for you. And even then, players would fiercely resist any prize-sharing with the organization, to the point that organizations begged developers to simply include a prize-sharing clause in the contract.

This is probably the most controversial thing in Dota - the organization benefits from the only thing they pay you for, which is winning, and you don't want to do anything for the organization in return. If you get paid based on the value you bring, and if your value decreases over time because Dota doesn't grow in terms of branding or awareness, or in terms of the number of viewers your tournament win attracts, then what argument do you have for getting more money as a player? Your only argument is like, well, I have a great chance of winning. Okay, but does your victory really give that much to the organization?

Previously, Austin 'Capitalist' Walsh and Avery 'SVG' Silverman spoke about the situation with PlayTime at the Esports World Cup 2026, and also discussed how the participation of players in fake matches at a major tournament could affect the pro scene.