Team Fortress 2 Goes Free-to-Play, Meets the Medic

[John Funk]

Team Fortress 2 Goes Free-to-Play, Meets the Medic

Gamers won't have to drop a cent on TF2 ever again (unless they want to).

Earlier this week, we reported that Valve was working on a free-to-play project [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111168-Valve-Says-Its-Working-on-a-Free-to-Play-Game], having recently enabled Steam to support F2P titles. Today, Valve announced just what, exactly that meant: After "four years and over 200 updates, its popular and critically-acclaimed online action game Team Fortress 2" is now free to play.

This announcement comes during a "week-long free weekend" of TF2 that accompanied the Uber Update [http://www.teamfortress.com/uberupdate/], the "biggest content update" to the game since its launch as part of the Orange Box in 2007.

[video=3598]

That's about it, really. Of course, TF2 now being free-to-play doesn't necessarily mean that Valve doesn't have other F2P projects in the works. I still think that it'll go that route with DOTA 2, in the highly, highly lucrative footsteps of League of Legends.

Oh, and "Meet the Medic" is out. You can see it here to the right - but really, you clicked that before reading the post, didn't you?

The Free-to-Play TF2 will have some limits, however, unless players spend as little as a dollar in the Mann Co. Store. Read the FAQ here [http://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay/faq.php].

(TF2 [http://www.teamfortress.com/uberupdate/])

Permalink

 

[Braedan]

I... um... well...

I expect the number of players to increase slightly.

 

[Aerograt]

Not really about the game going F2P (I don't really care, honestly I like the social aspects of MMOs and this sounds like the route TF2 is taking), but... Um...

WAS MEET THE MEDIC FREAKIN' AWESOME OR WHAT???!?!?!

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

And the difference is what, exactly? The game already has a fairly standard Free to Play structure of having payments to get items that otherwise have to be unlocked. So you can just download it entirely for free now?

 

[Awesome74]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

EDIT: Just to clarify: I'm really not annoyed at all about the free to play thing. As long as they keep making updates, then I'm happy. I was just thinking that it'd be a Valve thing to do to give a hat or something. If I didn't get one then I'd be perfectly content; I was just curious.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Woah, free stuff?

How did I miss this?

 

[Braedan]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Agreed. While I hate it when people complain about products getting cheaper over time, I feel the people who bought the game in the last month or two at least should get a dozen or so free hats. Maybe one or two to the original purchasers?

 

[Phlakes]

Several weeks ago in the Newell-Cave, Gabe Newell, while bathing in a vat of $100 bills, thought "you know, maybe I don't need another five hundred billion of these this week". And the people rejoiced.

 

[Poopster]

hurrah! this made my day! poor archimedes XD

 

[John Funk]

And the difference is what, exactly? The game already has a fairly standard Free to Play structure of having payments to get items that otherwise have to be unlocked. So you can just download it entirely for free now?

As far as I understand, yes.

 

[]DustArma[]

And the people will complain that they want their $10, $20, $30 or whatever they payed in the span of the last 4 years. The only ones with any right to complain are the ones who bought the game in the last month or so.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

As I overlook the FAQ for free people, I am deeply saddened by how bullshit it is. Getting the game for free means you CAN'T:

Give trades
Find hats
Give gifts
Have as many backpack slots (1/6 the number a person who paid for it has, 50 compared to 300)
Use every crafting blueprint

Oh, and to upgrade to a 'premium' player, it costs $1. One dollar for a game I had paid $20 for.

 

[Baneat]

Heard tell the F2P info is fake

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Haven't you been playing the game since you bought it? Those many wonderful hours weren't worth paying for cos now a handful of people get to dip in for free? I mean, sure, if you had waited you'd have got it for free, but you've been playing the game. Aren't those hours of fun worth, what, $20?

Edit: Wait.

"To thank you for your years of support, we will be giving players who have purchased TF2 a special Proof of Purchase hat to wear on any character in-game."

...if Valve had not done anything maybe we could all be mature by ourselves. But nope, they had to step in and make sure we were "compensated". Bullshit, I got my $20 worth. Other people did too. Maybe let those "loyal customers" realise they were loyal for a reason instead of throwing them crumbs like they're a flock of retarded birds.

 

[Superior Mind]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Agreed. While I hate it when people complain about products getting cheaper over time, I feel the people who bought the game in the last month or two at least should get a dozen or so free hats. Maybe one or two to the original purchasers?

I was just playing TF2, I found a texture-less item called a TF2 loyalty something... so yeah, I'm pretty sure this is what Valve are doing.

 

[Cobelo]

I kinda actually hate this big reveal.
Really, valve? You had to decide to make the game that i figured was worth $20 two months ago FREE? Now i feel like i wasted my own dosh. I'm with Awesome74, why don't i get my money's worth of in-game items or something, damn?

 

[Wing Dairu]

Everyone's throwing a shitfit about this. Really, nothing's going to change. We're just going to get a larger playerbase, that's all.

 

[sunami88]

[snip]
Oh, and "Meet the Medic" is out. You can see it here to the right - but really, you clicked that before reading the post, didn't you?

Uhh... No I didn't... *shifty eyes*.

This is good. Recently the number of TF2 players has dropped a bit. Hopefully this can reinvigorate things.

 

[castlewise]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/9/21/

Thought this was appropriate.