Team Fortress 2's Continued Popularity is a Serious Achievement

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Team Fortress 2 is a game that defined a lot of what is now the norm for first-person arena-shooters. The Valve title, sleek in its outward simplicity, captivated audiences upon its release in 2007, and the game has continued to capture that demographic to this day.

While this may seem like a muted accomplishment considering the game is backed by Valve, the success becomes apparent when taking into account that Valve has not released a major update for the game since 2017; only updates like annual Halloween cosmetics. Despite this lack of direct support, even in the face of concerning issues like a bot problem, Team Fortress 2 has become self-sustaining.

Team Fortress 2 Classic Mod Launches

Team Fortress 2 initially launched for PC via Steam, and had popular console ports for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 via The Orange Box. The game was revolutionary, a class-based arena-shooter which was unique both thematically and aesthetically, which quickly formed a cult following.

Players battle over a variety of objective modes with nine different classes to choose from, all providing unique combat elements that work symbiotically to achieve victory. These classes, or «mercs,» would also serve in giving each playable class comedic and world-building value through their personalities, largely developed via popular «Meet The...» videos produced by Valve to introduce each class and give an insight into their abilities. The classes also banter among themselves and deliver ruthless one-liners to insult enemies they're killing repeatedly — or «dominating,» as the game refers to it. This leads to a more intimate, lively world and gameplay in Team Fortress 2.

This is an aspect of TF2 that many subsequent titles borrowed from, with the