Summary
- Valve appears to be terminating bots in Team Fortress 2 after player pushback.
- Bots negatively impacted gameplay and player experience.
- While the future is somewhat uncertain future for Team Fortress 2, this bot ban is a positive step.
Valve has seemingly terminated a whole swarm of bots within Team Fortress 2. The purging of these accounts comes after an organized wave of pushback against Valve and Team Fortress 2, with players taking a firm stance against the game's bot problems.
Despite releasing nearly two decades ago, Valve's legendary FPS title, Team Fortress 2, continues to dominate a large chunk of discussion in the modern-day video game industry. Team Fortress 2's delicately balanced classes, offbeat humor, and instantly recognizable art style all work together to form one of the most acclaimed FPS experiences on the market, all the while being free to play. However, fans have long complained about Team Fortress 2's bot problem, which has rendered a significant number of lobbies and matches unplayable. As a result, players pushed back by review bombing Team Fortress 2 in the hopes Valve would finally fix the bot problem. These efforts have been met with radio silence, though now it seems like Valve listened.
While there's been no formal communication from Valve about Team Fortress 2's bot problem, the game's player base shifted recently, indicating a portion of bots have been taken care of. An update on the situation was shared by Twitter user Weezy, saying they saw zero bots during their playtime earlier this week. Weezy shared a statement from Megascatterbomb, another Team Fortress 2 player, who gave an update on the game's Discord server, saying, "The strongest evidence we have of a large banwave is the Steam charts, however the maintenance period may have simply knocked them offline temporarily."
Valve Cracks Down on Team Fortress 2 Bot Problem
Players are also noticing that bots are getting banned faster than usual, with Valve banning accounts itself rather than relying on its Valve Ant-Cheat software. Bots not only artificially inflated Team Fortress 2's player count but flooded matches, rendering them practically unplayable. These bots infected multiplayer matches, often taking the form of the Sniper class, instantly headshotting anyone who walks into view. Several fan campaigns have been created, with a petition to fix Team Fortress 2 gaining traction earlier this year.
Team Fortress 2's future is uncertain, with the iconic first-person shooter turning 17 this year. Despite its age, Team Fortress 2 consistently ranks as one of Steam's most popular titles, with the game recently rolling out its new summer update. Team Fortress 2 beat its own concurrent player count last year, reaching nearly 260,000 players. It's unclear how much more support Valve intends to give Team Fortress 2, but this initial bot ban is a step in the right direction for fans of the game.
Team Fortress 2
- Released
- October 10, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
One of the most popular online action games of all time, Team Fortress 2 delivers constant free updates—new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats. Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities, and lend themselves to a variety of player skills.
Detailed training and offline practice modes will help you hone your skills before jumping into one of TF2’s many game modes, including Capture the Flag, Control Point, Payload, Arena, King of the Hill and more.
Make a character your own: There are hundreds of weapons, hats and more to collect, craft, buy and trade. Tweak your favorite class to suit your gameplay style and personal taste. You don’t need to pay to win—virtually all of the items in the Mann Co. Store can also be found in-game.
