Team Fortress 2 Classic

Team Fortress 2 Classic
Developer(s)	Eminoma[a]
Engine	Source
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	December 31, 2014[1][2]
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Team Fortress 2 Classic is a modification of the 2007 game Team Fortress 2, developed by Eminoma and utilizing the Source engine.^[3] Building on a 2012 leak of the game's source code, with the code itself dating back to some point in 2008, the mod features not just community-made content, but also reworked content that was cut from the original game's development, and content based on Team Fortress Classic. This includes new weapons, game modes, and two new teams (GRN and YLW) used in some game modes in addition to the base game's RED and BLU teams. Additions to the mod also notably include the Civilian, a scrapped character from Team Fortress 2.^[4][5]

Team Fortress 2 Classic was first conceived as 1.0.0.9 (alternatively Orange Box Team Fortress 2) by Facepunch forums user TF2CutContent on November 23, 2014.^[6] The project initially started out as an old build of Team Fortress 2 from November 2007, with the purpose of being able to play the console version of Team Fortress 2 on PC, without hats or unlockable weapons. Around December 23, 2014, the name Team Fortress 2 Classic was picked for the project via a community poll, with another user in the Facepunch thread for the project designing a proper logo.^[7]

On December 30, 2014, user Danielmm8888 would join the project alongside TF2CutContent, bringing with him a custom build of Team Fortress 2.^[8] Due in part to the 1.0.0.9 build of Team Fortress 2 Classic featuring many old exploits that could not be patched, it would later be discontinued in favor of Danielmm8888's custom build. The 1.0 version of Team Fortress 2 Classic released on December 31, 2014.^[2] The initial public code commit for the new version of Team Fortress 2 Classic occurred in January 2015.^[9] With the change of game builds, the main goal of Team Fortress 2 Classic would shift to include a proper Four-Team game mode, in addition to reintroducing and rebalancing various cut weapons and other cut content from the early development of Team Fortress 2.

After Danielmm8888 and several other users joined the development team, three new game mode concepts were introduced to the project including Deathmatch, VIP and Espionage. As a result of the three additional game mode plans, the focus of re-adding and balancing early cut content was shifted aside in favor of adding said new content. Another Team Fortress 2 mod, Pre-Fortress 2, would later successfully accomplish Team Fortress 2 Classic's initial goal of re-balancing cut content. Deathmatch and VIP were the first two game modes to have actual work done for them, while Espionage only had some concept art and an explanatory design document created for it.

TF2CutContent would leave the project in May 2015, and Danielmm8888 would leave the project in 2016, causing the team structure to undergo several changes. In 2018, the development team would later reorganize and become Eminoma, consisting of the remaining Team Fortress 2 Classic members led by user Drudlyclean. At this point, the project's direction underwent another major change in direction and shifted towards re-imagining the initial release years of Team Fortress 2. The development team has stated that there will never be hats or cosmetics in Team Fortress 2 Classic in order to keep the core principles of Team Fortress 2 intact.^[10]

A "2.0" version of the mod was announced, with all available downloads for the original versions of the mod being de-listed. The de-listing of downloads was done to start on a clean slate for the 2.0 version and help minimize any misrepresentation of what would or would not be in the 2.0 version. The 2.0 version took 4 years to complete, and was fully released as the "Death & Taxes" update on July 4, 2020. This update's added content included new weapons, gameplay content, and curated maps, which included VIP maps that centered around the Civilian.

During the development of the Death & Taxes update, the Deathmatch game mode was cut from Team Fortress 2 Classic. Due to the removal, many team members left Team Fortress 2 Classic and split off into their own teams which resulted in the creation of two new deathmatch-specific mods; Team Deathmatch Classic, led by the development team Compucolor Pictures,^[11] and Open Fortress, led by the Open Fortress Team. The planned Espionage game mode also did not make it out of conceptual stages, with the concept later being adopted and worked on by a separate development team in the mod The Espionage Project.

Much like Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress 2 Classic has released updates and patches after the release of the game. Patch content has ranged from introducing bug fixes to new content such as new weapons, maps, and other gameplay mechanics.

Team Fortress 2 Classic, along with the mod Open Fortress, were temporarily removed for download on September 10, 2021, citing an arrangement with Valve.^[12] On June 1, 2022, both mods would later return to being available for download, claiming they received no responses from Valve after several attempts.^[13]

On April 26, 2023, Eminoma would announce the first major content update for Team Fortress 2 Classic titled the "Fight or Flight" update which added things like the Jump-pad for Engineer and the L'escampette for Spy,^[14] which later released on April 28, 2023.^[15]

Jonathan Bolding of PC Gamer called the mod "remarkably well-produced", calling its Four-Team maps the most exciting addition.^[16]

• Official website