Thursday night Valve Software confirmed that Team Fortress 2 has gone free-to-play.
Late Thursday Valve Software's Doug Lombardi confirmed that Team Fortress 2 (TF2) has indeed gone free to play. The news first surfaced days ago when references to a test version of the game (TestApp440) and a "no cost" value showed up in the registry. Now it's official and part of the "Über Update" which was also launched on Thursday, the largest content pack delivered to TF2 since its launch back in 2007.
"New players interested in experiencing what PC Gamer calls 'the most fun you can have online' will have access to training and offline practice modes, so they can hone their skills before jumping into the ever-expanding TF2 universe," Lombardi said in an email. "To celebrate the launch of the Über Update, Valve has released 'Meet the Medic,' the latest in its series of TF2 animated shorts."
According to the FAQ, anyone who has downloaded the game for free and has not made a purchase in the in-game Mann Co. store has a free account. However, premium accounts have a few extra features, including access to rare and cosmetic items through random item drops, the ability to store more items in your backpack, and more powerful trading and crafting abilities. Otherwise, the gameplay experience will be identical for both accounts.
Valve also states that the entire game can be played without making a purchase. All game modes, classes, and maps are available. Nearly every weapon is available through achievements, drops, or crafting. A credit card isn't needed to play, but in order to purchase items in the store, one of Valve's accepted payment options must be on file. Free accounts will be upgraded to premium status once players make a purchase in-store or buy the game outright.
To download and play, gamers must have Steam already installed.
I'm not a big TF2 fan, but nobody can complain about this.
I'm not a big TF2 fan, but nobody can complain about this.
except for people that paid actual money for the game and now have to deal with annoying 8 year olds on servers saying "HOW DO I GET A SANDWICH FOR MY MACHINE GUN GUY"
Whatever, I stopped playing as soon as they released 1 dollar noisemakers at the halloween update, I knew where the game was going. Shame, since it was such a good game when it came out.
omg stfu.
i paid $50 for the orange box when it came out. BUT I HAD 3 1/2 YEARS OF GAMETIME, stop freakin complaining.
if you hate the updates so much, go play on a vanilla server, mute the kids, and stfu.
some people can find a reason to complain about everything. pathetic, really. good job valve!
try again troll. valve won't be doing any of that. when's the last time you saw them attempt to nickel and dime a customer? and don't say the mann co. store, you get the ENTIRE GAME FOR FREE, and if you play on the vanilla servers, there's no such thing.
but if you want to spent $100 on 10 seconds of invincibility be my guest.
the hat economy will be ruined...../cry
y u make free to play, valve!
"opinions are like a--holes, Every body has one"
A couple things in its favor:
1) Dedicated server support--you can run the game the way you want if you choose. Vanilla if you prefer.
2) Full modding tools are still there. Make your own maps, etc.
3) LAN support
I see this more akin to the previous releases of Alien Swarm and the Free Portal offer a while back. It's a way to get people on Steam which is the first step to having them see those incredible sales. I don't think TF2 was generating a lot of money in sales at this point. People who were going to buy it already had it. It's also been sold for as low a 2.50 cents (Halloween).
I've got a couple Steam accounts but only own one copy of TF2. Now I'll have a functioning copy on each of my computers for when buddies come to visit. I might actually play it again now.
Since I actually bought the game, am I a "premium user", or do I have to buy a TuTu for my Heavy even though I already put $60 into the whole orange box package 5 years ago?
F2P only benefits people who were too cheap to buy the game in the first place (or pay a subscription for MMOs). Imagine if you worked your ass off to buy your first car, then Ford announced their F2D program (free-2-drive). Someone else gets a fancy new Ford Mustang for free, only they had to pay for the leather seat upgrades, something even your car doesn't have and you paid full price for it.
As you can tell from my rant above, none of the in-game content is of any interest to me personally. However, I also haven't played in 2 years, so I don't give a crap who's playing now for free or not. But I CAN understand some peoples frustrations. It's like a Night Club that is Uber exclusive. You work your way inside through suave moves and class. You're working your way through the hot chicks, trying to find one to score with, but then half an hour before last call the doors fly open and every loser standing outside rushes in. You know what? All the hot chicks are going to leave because the loser-ratio is way too high at this point. It's going to be the same on TF2. All the public servers are going to be crowded with morons (they already were to some point). All the skilled players and clans that make playing the game fun are going to revert entirely to private servers. Unless you have access to a well-populated private server, playing TF2 for free is going to suck.
you paid 10 bucks for it. it isnt a mustang.
many of the players are not 8 year olds but adults who never tried the game because they didn't want to spend $ on it.
I don't believe any of the complaints have any weight.
dead on with the COD statement...
doubtful any time soon, didnt like a million people sign up for that COD club thing that have
Overall it's a great thing and I hope Valve continues to improve on TF2(even if it is a War based hat simulator).
You cannot trade items on free accounts.
its a free beta at this point and was heavily advertised in game.
buy a cheap item and you have a premium account.
anyone else but me not downloading this for space reasons? i have better things to do with 10gb than download this.