Team Fortress 2 Turns Free To Play

While we are gamers at heart here at Ghacks, we usually do not write that much about gaming. But when someone drops a bomb, we have the urge to tell the world. I have been playing Team Fortress 2 since beta, quit twice since then but always came back to the game. It was one of the few multiplayer games that kept me motivated where others failed miserably. Team Fortress 2 is a relatively fast paced team shooter that combines an excellent mixture of different playable classes, game modes and maps.

The game has been developed by Valve, the company behind Half Life and Portal. Unlike those games, Team Fortress 2 was always offered for a bargain price. The retail price has been set to about 20 Dollars or Euros, with promotions dropping that price to less than 10 bucks for a game that entertained many for hundreds of hours.

Another thing that makes the game special is the humor, which you come in contact with not only while playing, but also in the excellent "Meet The" videos that introduce all available Team Fortress 2 classes.

When you open the Steam Store you are directly greeted with the Team Fortress 2 Free To Play announcement. If you have not purchased the game, you can now download and play it for free. The official Team Fortress 2 blog confirms the move to a free to play model.

There are however differences between free and premium members. A premium member is someone who purchased the game in the past. Here are the most important differences:

• Backpack: 50 slots 300 slots (expandable up to 1000)
• Items: Standard Standard, Rare and Cosmetic
• Crafting: Limited blueprints All blueprints
• Trading: Receive items only Full trading
• Gifting: Can receive gifts Can give and receive gifts

Those limitations are all item based, which are not needed to play the game. The backpack limitation could become a problem when items begin to fill it, but everything else is just not as relevant for playing the game. More important than that, "all game modes, classes, and maps are available". Free players can turn their free account into a premium one by making a single purchase in the inbuilt game store. Players can buy weapons, items and other stuff in that store. The cheapest item cost well below a Dollar / Euro in the store, but you need to transfer at least 5 Dollars, Euro to your Steam Wallet as this seems to be the minimum amount. They can still buy an item for less than that, but will have leftover money then in their account.

To celebrate the free to play release of the game, the developers have created the long awaited "meet the medic" video. It is a bit stereotyping Germans, but who gives a xxxx.

So what are you waiting for? One of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, now free. You need Steam to download the game, should you not have it. If you have Steam, visit the Store and click on the Team Fortress 2 announcement there or search for the game in the store. The download links should appear there right away.

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