Anofficial blog postfromTeam Fortress 2has announced thefull release of the game’s source code. Given the game’s industry-defying longevity and especially-creative fanbase, it’s likely we’ll see an explosion of innovation from players in the months to come.
Team Fortress 2 players have already had some creative freedom with things like the Steam Workshop for mods, but this release from Valve gives them a complete look under the hood. Valve outright states that this will let people “build completely new games based on TF2.”
But with this release, comes a question. Valve’s practically non-existent pace of updates hasn’t gone unnoticed. If Valve has been looking to put their focus elsewhere,does this mean that Valve has officially given up on updating Team Fortress 2?
In theory, there’s nothing Valve can do right now that players can’t do themselves. In practice, Valve still holds domain over one key feature of most games: the ability to make money. This gives them some incentive to keep things going, if only a small one.
The use of TF2’s source code comes with a “non-commercial releases only” restriction. Paid content is not allowed - if you use the source code in a project, whatever you create must be free. Projects can, however, be released on Steam as a whole new game if desired. It’ll appear on the platform just like any other released game.
Team Fortress 2 Update Pays Tribute To Late Voice Actor Rick May
Statues of May’s character, Soldier, have been placed throughout Team Fortress 2’s maps, and will play many of his iconic lines.
Valve also has a message specifically for those whose creations may have an impact on players' in-game inventories:
The majority of items in the game now are thanks to the hard work of the TF2 community. To respect that, we’re asking TF2 mod makers continue to respect that connection, and to not make mods that have the purpose of trying to profit off Workshop contributors' efforts. We’re hoping that many mods will continue to allow players access their TF2 inventory, if this makes sense for the mod.
Is Valve Done Updating Team Fortress 2?
Over TF2’s lifespan, players have noticed that Valve is getting slower and slower to update the game. With the current glacial pace of updates, a release of this scale has some players concerned.
This is the overwhelming sentiment on theTF2 subreddit, interpreting the move as Valve handing the reigns of the game over to the players, saying: “You want updates? Here’s everything you need to make them yourself.”
One userwrote that “this is honestly the best case scenario.”
The game is almost 18 years old at this point. I would rather they just hand the source code over to players and go “Alright, do whatever you guys want, we’re moving on”.
While Valve has never officially stated that development on Team Fortress 2 has ceased, the current pace of development has certainly implied it.
Valve Restricts Team Fortress 2 Gambling Sites
Valve issues a statement condemning gambling sites using Team Fortress 2 data, and blocks the use of that data.
The last big move Valve has made for TF2 wasn’t even an update per se, it was them fightinga war against the botsplaguing what should have been good, clean multiplayer fun. Their efforts were successful, but obviously, bot-hunting isn’t quite the same thing as new content.
At this point, the direction of TF2 will almost certainly be decided by the fans from now on. They’ve been handed the keys to the kingdom, and only time will tellwhat kind of chaosthey’ll get up to.
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