[Answered] Is TF2 Dead? – Charts & Statistics

After a whopping fifteen years, is TF2 dead after all? Launched back in October 2007, TF2 has thrived for an impressive fifteen years with a behemoth of a fanbase. But with many similar games out and no major updates in the game anytime soon, one cannot wonder if TF2 is dead. While many on the internet claim that TF2 is dead, the data suggests otherwise.

As we said, Team Fortress 2 had its humble beginnings on October 10, 2007, as a part of The Orange Box and also as a stand-alone product via Steam.

Here is an introduction to the classic gem of a game:

TF2: An Introduction to the Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game that is available for free on the internet. Valve Corporation is responsible for the game’s development and distribution.

In an alternative timeline, the game is set in 1968, taking inspiration from the likes of James Bond, Get Smart and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. It is a follow-up game to Team Fortress 1996 and Team Fortress Classic 1999.

Nine classes are available in the game (Scout, Medic, Soldier, Sniper, Heavy, Demoman, Engineer, Pyro, and Spy). Players can choose which of these classes they want to play, and they can switch classes at any time during the round. There are a variety of game types available, including Payload, in which one side pushes a cart down a track while the other tries to stop it, and a variant of Seize the Flag in which players must capture a briefcase with critical documents.

Why is TF2 claimed to be dead?

This claim too is not entirely baseless. Apart from its being a fifteen-year-old game, here are the reasons why people claim TF2 is dead:

• No major updates from Valve: Valve, the developers of the game seemed to have abandoned the game big time. Only recently the dry spell has been broken by a bunch of updates to remove a large number of bots that have invaded the community. Like their official website cheekily puts it: Mozart too doesn’t need updates to stay relevant.
• Overwhelming Number of Bots: The bot infestation in Team Fortress 2 has been a problem for years, but it seemed to intensify significantly around the summer of 2020, leading to a flurry of complaints. Bots have been found clogging chat rooms with racist and homophobic remarks, broadcasting excruciatingly loud noises through microphones, and sending links to objectionable material. Many fans felt the developers could do more than the bare minimum to control the havoc.

Is TF2 Dead? No. Here’s Why

For all chatrooms and discussion forums on the internet affirmative when asked if TF2 is dead, the data says otherwise. As a matter of fact, TF 2 continues to be one of the most popular games on Steam, the platform on which it made its debut. In fact, TF2 is by far the oldest game on the list of most popular games on Steam.

Here’s how different statistics regarding the same –

1. Google Trends

The quickest and the easiest way to check the popularity of any topic, from the World Cup to Kardashians, here’s what google trend shows in the case of Team Fortress 2:

For the last five years, the google trends popularity has stayed pretty much the same with barely any significant noticeable decline.

Without any recent updates from the developers, the fans still seem to remain loyal to the game.

2. Reddit

The r/tf2 community stands at 727k strong and is highly active to this day, this moment. It speaks volumes for itself, doesn’t it?

3. Steam

In an ongoing analysis of Steam’s concurrent players, there’s no decline in the number of players over the past ten years. In fact, the number of players hit an all-time high of 150,037 in June 2021 itself. This goes on to show that the popularity of the game shows no signs of slowing down, despite many new games since 2007.

The average number of players has increased by 2.41% and 3.49% in the past two months, respectively. In comparison, TF2 runs neck to neck with GTA V, arguably one of the most popular games on the planet.

This should definitely answer your question ‘Is TF2 Dead?’. If not, here’s more evidence –

4. Twitch Stream

Statistics show that the number of TF2 dedicated channels, rather than dwindling, has trebled in number from January 2017 to January 2021, and so did the number of viewers.

These numbers alone put the question of ‘is tf2 dead?’ to rest. The viewership also increased by 24.2% in just a month in April 2022.

5. Discord

There are many TF2 out there, the most popular one being TF2 Community. It has over 88k members with ~15k members online daily.

Why is TF2 still relevant?

TF2, much like Counter-Strike, is considered a classic. It is a free-to-play game, which attracts many fans. It also isn’t a highly competitive environment and offers a chill comfy playtime. It also has a friendly and loyal community.

Though being an old game, it doesn’t have slick graphics compared to the new counterparts, the fans like the team-based gameplay and many items and hats make up for it. So, when the question comes, “Is tf2 dead?’ the answer is No, for the game is the equivalent of the comfort food you turn to after being overwhelmed with the gourmet.

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