As Team Fortress 2 veterans gaze at Deadlock with interest and envy, steadfast fans are still waiting for Valve to notice them

It’s probably unfair to say Team Fortress 2 is on life support—Steam Workshop content is implemented regularly enough and the recent bot banwaves show Valve at least has a hand (or pinky finger) on the wheel—but it has been a hot minute since the game has had a meaningful content drop. The elder statesman FPS still gets its annual, community-led Summer Update, but it’s coming up on seven long years since Valve threw its weight behind TF2 with the Jungle Inferno update that brought new maps, items, and Pyro balancing. Valve implied the same treatment would be coming to the Heavy as well, but so far, every content update since has come with the same caveat: manage your expectations.

It’s arguably impressive Team Fortress 2 was supported with meatier updates for as long as it was since its launch in 2007, but despite its age, TF2 boasts a content-hungry and massive playerbase that wonders why Valve has left them in the cold. Cleaning up those aforementioned bots took a massive, monthslong push from players over social media, and that Heavy update is more of a punchline among fans these days than something to genuinely look forward to. One reason is that Valve is busy nurturing the massive playerbase of Deadlock, its new shooter/MOBA hybrid.

Deadlock’s staying power is difficult to gauge at this point, but it’s off to an electric start, with over 100 thousand testers playing frequently, despite Valve only recently acknowledging it exists and access still restricted to an invite-only alpha. And though Deadlock is obviously not Team Fortress 3, its similarities to Valve’s former favorite child are causing a stir regardless.

To some TF2 fans, Deadlock’s proximity to TF2 as a new Valve shooter is a contentious issue. TF2 YouTuber Weezy polled his community on Twitter asking which game it thought would have a bigger audience long-term. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they overwhelmingly voted against Deadlock; a prediction Weezy denounced.

“This poll was done explicitly as a sniff-test for how delusional the TF2 community is. The answer is Deadlock, and barring any calamities it won’t be close,” Weezy said in a quote-retweet. “Yes, almost all TF2bers dislike the game. Doesn’t matter, normies and compoids vibe with it, and that demographic is eons larger than TF2’s hardcore base.”

Whether normies and “compoids” are to blame for Deadlock’s resonance or not, opinions are all over the map among TF2 fans. Players on Reddit are quickly discovering that despite its stylized characters and over-the-top guns giving it a passing resemblance to the beloved FPS, Deadlock isn’t necessarily a shooter at all.

“It has nothing to do with TF2, lol. Maybe save for some abilities and character design. Then it’s a mix of Dota and TF2,” said Reddit user Zhabishe.

Others were more generous, even with the game’s differences.

“I’ve played a good 30 matches and as someone with 4k hours in Dota and 3k hours in TF2, it’s a pretty refreshing experience in a pvp market oversaturated with Overwatch clones,” said commenter MothBabe-. “Really fun and lots of interesting tech and mechanics to play with. The skill ceiling will be hella high for this. Like with Dota, you learn something new every time you play it.”

Hard feelings

If you’ve ever waited years for a sequel to your favorite game that never comes, you can imagine why Deadlock is a sore point. In some ways, it’s everything TF2 fans have wanted for years: a new stylized Valve “shooter” built on the latest Source 2 engine, brimming with new ideas and personality.

But most fans seem to acknowledge that Deadlock isn’t really for the TF2 crowd, and Valve is largely staying the MOBA course it’s been on for years already. As some are pointing out, Deadlock is simply the new hotness—and the TF2 community’s continued passion on the issue demonstrates that it’s passed a longevity test Deadlock still needs to show up for.

TF2 was the reason I installed Steam so many years ago, and it’s the first game I put over 1,000 hours into, so watching it struggle to remain on Valve’s radar stings. That said, the game’s remarkably persistent playerbase will always be more valuable to its continued success than acknowledgment from Valve, as community servers and player-made competitive formats remain evergreen draws that modern games can’t match (shooters without custom server support will always die on the vine someday). Deadlock or no Deadlock, I have a feeling TF2 will be just fine.

Reddit user StardustJess echoed that sentiment on a thread from a few months ago, when the “Deadlock panic” first started to settle in.

“I legit don’t care if the game never gets another update, because it lives on in the hands of the community. We can make new maps, new weapon mods, models and shit. We can make anything. Most of what’s in the game is made by the community anyway,” they said. “I’ll try out Deadlock. I’ll probably have a good time. I’ll also still play TF2. I’ll still have a good time.”

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