Team Fortress 2 community bands together for "peaceful protest" to #SaveTF2
UPDATE: "We see how large this issue has become," Valve acknowledges.
UPDATE 27/5/22: Valve has acknowledged yesterday's #SaveTF2 protest by fans, intended to highlight the bot-ridden state of Team Fortress 2.
Writing for the first time in nearly two years via the official Team Fortress 2 account, Valve said it had heard fans and promised action - although did not specify anything more concrete than that.
"TF2 community, we hear you!" Valve wrote. "We love this game and know you do, too. We see how large this issue has become and are working to improve things."
Well, it's a start.
ORIGINAL STORY 26/5/22: The Team Fortress 2 community is today aiming to get its voice heard by staging a "peaceful protest" designed to raise awareness of the state of the game.
A reddit post advertising the protest, which is supported by numerous high-profile TF2 content creators, now sits at the top of the TF2 subreddit, with more than 2000 comments and an eye-catching 1000 reddit (paid-for) awards.
The protest aims to get #SaveTF2 trending worldwide on Twitter and other social media today, 26th May, from 6pm UK time. Success, the protest's organisers say, means showing how the aging game still retains its popularity.
"TF2 means so much to so many! The community has gone through a lot," the post reads. "TF2 is in an unplayable state. We creators have decided to unite and share our love and care for TF2! Will you join us?"
The protest's organisers have asked fans to keep things positive - and not send hate to developer Valve.
"This will be a VERY peaceful protest just reminding everyone that we LOVE this game please don't send hate towards Valve etc," organiser Shork_Pink wrote on reddit. "We will be representing the TF2 COMMUNITY so let's do it right!"
So, what's wrong with TF2? Well, there's the long, long, long, long, long-standing issue of the game's bots, and Valve's inability to keep them in check. But fans also miss the updates Valve used to bring to the game - more than hats, anyway - which have been noticably absent over the past few years.
We'll keep an eye out and see if Valve responds.
