Highlights
- TF2 players are uniting to combat a surge of sniper bots with a petition that garnered 140k signatures.
- The iconic shooter paved the way for popular games like Overwatch and Valorant, but suffers from neglect.
- Fans push Valve to tackle bot issues in TF2, resorting to a Twitter campaign and enlisting YouTubers for support.
Team Fortress 2 players are rallying together online to save the game from a plague of head-shotting sniper bots with the "Save TF2" petition that has since gained over 140,000 signatures. A previous Team Fortress 2 petition from 2022 did lead to a major update that at least attempted to address the issue, but the bots seem to not only persist, but are more numerous than ever.
Valve's iconic hero-based shooter has enjoyed a massive fanbase since its launch and pioneered the genre, paving the way for titles like Overwatch and Valorant to take a similar formula and go in all-new directions with it. While the game has seen a massive slow-up when it comes to legitimate updates from Valve, it still enjoys a healthy player base of dedicated fans who wish to see the game thrive.
Team Fortress 2 Gets Surprise New Update 17 Years After Launch
Team Fortress 2, Valve's seminal free-to-play multiplayer shooter, gets a new update that greatly improves one aspect of the game.
This is exactly what led to the creation of the "Save TF2" campaign which takes the form of both a Twitter hashtag and an official website where fans can sign their name on a petition calling on Valve to address the bot issue. According to Twitter user heavyfortres, who announced the website in a recent post, the issue has persisted for over five years and continues to grow worse as time goes on, likely due to a lack of moderation since Valve has moved on to more recent titles.
Team Fortress 2 Fans Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands
Since its initial creation, the "Save TF2" petition has gained over 140,000 signatures, though only around 58,000 have been officially confirmed, and it is unclear just how many are needed to get Valve's attention once again. However, the notoriously resilient Team Fortress 2 community has other plans as well, such as a proposed mass Twitter callout on June 3 in which fans have asked other users to tag the developers en masse.
Players have stated that the botting problem extends past simple aimbotting as well, with reports of bots spamming harsh language and profanities in the game's text chat. Valve does have anti-cheat measures in place for the game, the same used in Counter-Strike 2 and other multiplayer games, though it has seemingly failed to prevent the spread of bots, as even that game has suffered from a similar issue.
As of right now, it is still unclear how aware Valve actually is of the issues plaguing Team Fortress 2, but the fans seem intent on continuing their campaign to eradicate the bots from the game, even enlisting the help of prominent TF2 YouTubers. Valve has a history of neglecting the game when it comes to major updates in recent years, which have left many members of the community feeling abandoned as the developers continue to focus on newer projects.
Team Fortress 2
The sequel to the iconic Team Fortress has players choose from an array of character types, each with their own weapons and abilities. Players will battle against other players in various game modes.
