Released in 2020, Team Fortress 2 Classic is a mod for Team Fortress 2 that re-imagines the original game’s early post-launch era. It was one of the most popular fan mods, and now will officially be released through Steam later this year–and can be wishlisted right now.
In terms of returning features from the mod, there is a new special class, the Civilian, which is inspired by Team Fortress Classic. There are also original weapons like the nailgun, dynamite pack, and tranquilizer gun that are said to be redesigned. And the traditionally two-team game now features four-team support in Arena, King of the Hill, and other modes, with the third and fourth teams taking on the colors of yellow and green.
The mod restores the toon-style character shading of the game’s beta, reimplements cut content, removes many later additions to the game’s content and lore, and adds new content along with exclusive new game modes. On the visual side, there are improved textures, models, and mapping features.
With entirely new weapons and items like jump pads, flak cannons, and bricks–you can even have chains wrapped around your fists–combat is dramatically changed. There’s also extensive modding support, allowing players to customize the look of their game, and allowing servers to host advanced custom weapon packs and maps.
“Beginning development in 2014 and formally releasing in July of 2020, Team Fortress 2 Classic has been worked on for over a decade now–almost certainly longer than you’ve been alive,” the description reads on Steam. “Even between the massive multi-day updates, a team full of contributors is working nonstop on content, balance changes, and bug fixes.”
Being a mod, Team Fortress 2 Classic’s Steam release will require you to own TF2, but that should be no real obstacle, as it’s available for free. News of this Steam port comes not long after Valve released TF2’s source code, potentially opening the door for more extensive mods in the future.