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

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
20,364
0
0
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
 

Aerograt

New member
Jan 7, 2011
212
0
0
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

New member
Dec 6, 2009
1,653
0
0
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

New member
Jul 21, 2010
16
0
0
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.
 

Braedan

New member
Sep 14, 2010
697
0
0
Awesome74 said:
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? :D
 

Phlakes

Elite Member
Mar 25, 2010
4,282
0
41
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.
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
20,364
0
0
Shamanic Rhythm said:
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[

New member
Mar 11, 2011
128
0
0
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

New member
Sep 26, 2009
8,617
0
0
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.
 

Andy of Comix Inc

New member
Apr 2, 2010
2,234
0
0
Awesome74 said:
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

New member
Feb 9, 2009
1,537
0
0
Braedan said:
Awesome74 said:
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? :D
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

New member
Feb 27, 2009
116
0
0
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

New member
Jul 21, 2010
314
0
0
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

New member
Jun 23, 2008
647
0
0
John Funk said:
[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.