Team Fortress 2 gets a "full-on update-sized update" this summer, Valve says
UPDATE: Valve rewords post, lowering expectations.
UPDATE 16/2/23: Valve has edited a post which promised a "full-on update-sized update" for Team Fortress 2, dialling back on the update's previous description.
Instead of an "update-sized update", the patch is now described as "holiday-sized update", users on the official TF2 reddit have now spotted. A line which also teased more unannounced additions has also been altered.
Valve previously listed the update as containing items, maps, taunts, unusual effects, war paints "and who knows what else?!" This has now been changed to "and other community-contributed fixes for the game!"
All of this seems to point to Valve suggesting fans keep their expectations in check, amid rabid speculation on what else might be included. Still, considering Valve's previous lack of updates for the game, it remains something.
ORIGINAL STORY 10/2/23: Valve has set tongues wagging in the Team Fortress 2 community by announcing what sounds like a meaningful update due out this summer.
In a post on the previously dormant Team Fortress website, Valve promised a "full-on update-sized update", while calling for content from Steam Workshop creators.
"The last few Team Fortress summer events have only been item updates," Valve said. "But this year, we're planning on shipping a full-on update-sized update - with items, maps, taunts, unusual effects, war paints and who knows what else?! Which means we need Steam Workshop content! YOUR Steam Workshop content!"
The wording here is interesting. Tempering their excitement, Team Fortress fans have suggested this update will simply contain more user-generated content than is usual.
There are whispers of hype, though, buoyed by the "and who knows what else?!" line. Could Valve have something developed in-house up its sleeve for its 16-year-old team shooter?
Team Fortress 2 remains one of the most popular games on Steam, despite Valve having left it behind in any meaningful sense years ago. Last month, Valve's "entire asset repository" leaked online, including cut content for Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life games. Last summer, Valve issued a new update for Team Fortress 2 a month after acknowledging a high-profile fan campaign that highlighted the current state of the game.
The "peaceful protest" to "#SaveTF2" was organised by fans in May to raise awareness of the game's many bugs, its ongoing bot problems, and the general lack of updates by Valve despite TF2's ongoing popularity.
In response, Valve said it had heard the game's community. "We see how large this issue has become and are working to improve things," it wrote shortly after. Patches were released afterwards.