*EDIT: This was written before the bot crisis that has plagued TF2 for years. I have since rewritten this 3 times. Valve #fixtf2.

Team Fortress 2 has been my favorite game since I watched my older brother play it in 2012. Ever since then, TF2 has had a major impact on my life, providing me with many memories since I downloaded it on my own PC in 2014. As of 2024, I can say that this game has been involved for over HALF of my life, and to see it in its current state is nothing but a revelation of what Valve truly is. They turned from one of the biggest innovators in the gaming industry to one of the biggest muck-ups the world has ever seen. They have taken one of their precious IP's and allowed bothosters to abuse their child and ruin the in-game economy.

I've played TF2 on my own PC since the End of the Line update in late 2014 and I have seen the game's ups and downs. At the time of writing this, I believe that I have 2500 hours into this game, and I can assuredly say that this game deserves my gratitude. It has been with me during many dark periods of my life and has been there in the ups too. I come back to this game to get that nostalgia fix and I'm always reminded of the bitter state that Valve has left.

Valve, you've made history, and it will continue to be history until you do something about it. You've made a legacy for yourselves over the past 20 years, but that's all it is: history. You've proven to not care for your IP's - seeing how Half-Life still hasn't finished, even though you released a title under the name after waiting 13 years to make another one. Left 4 Dead has -ironically- been left for dead. Portal still has a story to be fulfilled (linking back to Half-Life), and Counter-Strike is in its most controversial state since you've forced-migrated onto a subjectively worse system. Team Fortress 2 obviously isn't the breadwinner of your games, but it is an infinitely more creative IP than Deadlock or Artefact will ever be, yet you leave it to rot.

It's unfair that you, Valve, have left me to leave this game on unrecommended because of YOUR fault and not the game's. This game has *literally* been a part of me for over half of my life. I never wanted to see the game in this state. I've spent far too much money on this game just to be spun around and slapped like a 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 piece of meat on a rotisserie spinner.

Please, Valve, don't let things remain history; create more. I don't want to look back at this game and say, "I remember Team Fortress 2; it's a shame what happened to it." I remember the Love and War update that released a decade ago, and now the community has created their own love and war: a love for this game and war against the bots. I love this game, and it pains me to leave it with a thumbs down. But only because of you, Valve, am I left to do it.