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# You Can Finally Play Team Fortress 2 Again (For Now)
- URL: https://aftermath.site/savetf2-you-can-finally-play-team-fortress-2-again-for-now/
- Published: 2024-07-09T19:21:37.000Z
- Updated: 2025-10-27T17:14:10.000Z
- Author: Chris Person
- Tags: Video Games, Team Fortress 2, TF2, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-10-27 13:00

Today, I played several normal, casual matches of *Team Fortress 2* on public servers. This would not be unusual, but the game has been rendered [largely unplayable](https://aftermath.site/valve-team-fortress-2-fixtf2-bots-botspam/) in public for several years now. This has changed in the last week or so. “Are the bots gone?” I saw one player ask, to which several players immediately replied back, independently of each other, “For now.”

> [](https://twitter.com/DidTF2GetUpdate/status/1806580927075901828?ref=aftermath.site)

In June, the *Team Fortress 2* community made a second, gargantuan push to publicly embarrass Valve, negatively reviewing the game and pushing them to “#SaveTF2.” As of last week, it seems like all that negative press finally sunk in. Valve not only instituted a [massive ban wave ](https://x.com/DidTF2GetUpdate/status/1806580927075901828?ref=aftermath.site)for the game, but also introduced [a new FAQ page tailor-made specifically for *TF2* bans](https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/37C7-829B-5DE3-CC3B?ref=aftermath.site). At the top of the page, in big red letters, they state “*Team Fortress 2* game bans are permanent, non-negotiable, and are not removed by Steam Support.” If you mess up here, you’re gone for good.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2025/10/unnamed-8.png)

Valve to bots: Drop Dead. Credit: Valve

This is largely the language and tone I would expect to hear given the embarrassing scale of the problem. The gloves are off now, Valve does not seem to be messing around, and the results show. I spent several rounds playing good old-fashioned games of *TF2*. There were assholes, sure, but just the regular analog type. Every game was playable. I did not run into cheaters. I had a good time playing video games.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2025/10/tf2-2-w-710-1.png)

For now, the good outweighs the bad. Credit: Valve

As a result, there is now a [massive uptick in active players](https://steamcharts.com/app/440?ref=aftermath.site#All), very clearly organic ones too. The reviews have gone from [“overwhelmingly negative” to simply “mostly negative.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/1dxmpcz/after%5Fthe%5Fban%5Fwaves%5Ftf2s%5Freviews%5Fhave%5Fgone%5Ffrom/?ref=aftermath.site)” Reactions to the news from long term fans are [mostly positive, but cautious](https://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/1dw108o/thoughts%5Fon%5Fthis/?ref=aftermath.site). And for good reason! Valve has done ban waves in the past (see 2022), and simply banning cheaters and bots is not a permanent solution. Years of neglect cannot be healed in a week, and the type of problem they seek to address takes time and years of diligence, which Valve does not always have a spotless track record of. This is a community that has been burned before, and the official website of the movement, [save.tf](http://save.tf/?ref=aftermath.site), has recommended players proceed with caution. As one player put it, “let see if it sticks first.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2025/10/tf2-3-w-710-1.png)

save.tf remain cautious. Credit:[ save.tf](http://save.tf/?ref=aftermath.site)

For now, *TF2* is still the goofy, fun, low-stakes experience it always was. I went in and played engineer (my main), a little badly. I wasn’t the only one; a lot of the other players who hadn’t been hunkering in private servers were clearly trying to find their sea legs again. For now, the game is playable, and I truly hope it remains that way. I hope that Valve realizes how many people love this game and actively want more. Because I don’t think my heart could take it to see the game rot away one more time, and I think a lot of people feel the same way.