How To Play Older Versions of TF2 [2024]

Have you ever wanted to relive past versions of TF2? If so than this is the guide for you!

Introduction

This is a guide on how to install and play older versions of TF2.

A few heads-ups before we get into the guide:

• You'll be downloading an entire second copy of TF2, so make sure you have enough hard drive space.
  
• Older versions of TF2 trying to connect to modern item servers will cause a lot of bugs (missing textures, crashes, etc). You can put Steam in offline mode to avoid most of these.
  
• I'm not responsible for what might happen to your account. The old version of TF2 you install and your up-to-date version will be connected in some ways (mostly through your steam account and the item servers). The only thing I've personally had happen is all of my loadouts being unequipped.

Step 1. Download DepotDownloader

The first thing you'll need to do is download DepotDownloader[github.com]. This is an open-source program that uses built-in Steam console commands to download old versions of games and software, called depots.

Download the latest release for your operating system, extract the files and place them in a folder somewhere on your computer.

Step 2. Get the manifest ID

The next step is to get the manifest ID of the version you want to download. We'll be getting this information from SteamDB[steamdb.info]. Go to the TF2 page on SteamDB[steamdb.info]and click "Depots" on the left-side menu. You'll be presented with a list of different depots for TF2. For the main TF2 install, we want the "TF2 Client server shared" depot with an ID of 441.


From there, click "Manifests" on the left-side menu. Now you can scroll down the list until you get to the version you want to download. The versions are only labeled by their release date, so you'll need to cross-reference the TF2 wiki if you're looking for a specific update, like End of the Line or Meet Your Match. When you reach the version you want, you'll need to copy the number in the far-right column. This is the manifest ID DepotDownloader needs to download that version of TF2.

Step 3. Installing the main game

Now that we have our manifest ID, we can begin installing our old version of TF2. You'll need to run DepotDownloader through the command line.

If you're using Linux, I'm gonna assume you already know how to use the command line.

On Windows 10/11, navigate to the folder with DepotDownloader, shift+right click -> "Open PowerShell window here"



















In the command line window that pops up, paste the following command:

./DepotDownloader -app 440 -depot 441 -manifest [your manifest ID] -username [your Steam username]

Replace [your manifest ID] with the manifest ID you got from SteamDB and [your Steam username] with your Steam username (the one you use when signing in.)

DepotDownloader will ask for your Steam password and Steam Guard code (if you're using Steam Guard), and begin downloading your version of TF2. This will take a while since you're basically installing a second copy of TF2.

Step 4. Installing the OS specific files

Now that you have the main game files installed, you'll need to install some files specific to your operation system.

Head back to SteamDB[steamdb.info] and click "Depots." Select the depot matching your operating system (for Windows, make sure you select the one with an ID of 232251). Click "Manifests" and scroll down to the same version you downloaded earlier. Copy the manifest ID in the far-right column.

Go back to your command line and run the following command:

./DepotDownloader -app 440 -depot [your depot ID] -manifest [your manifest ID] -username [your Steam username]

Same deal as last time, except you'll use your new manifest ID and you need to add the depot ID based on your operation system, 232251 for Windows, 232252 for Mac, and 232253 for Linux. This download will be much quicker.

Step 5. Finalizing the installation and playing the game

Now that everything has been installed, we need to combine the two downloads.

In the same folder that you have DepotDownloader in, there should be a folder called "depots". Inside you should have a folder for each depot you downloaded. Open the folder with the same name as the depot ID for your operating system (232251 for Windows, etc.) and then "13131251". Copy all the contents except for the ".DepotDownloader" folder. Go back to where you put DepotDownloader and navigate to "depots/441/13131251". Paste the folders you copied earlier. If it says that there are already files with the same name, replace the old files.

Now, to actually run the game, go to your Steam library, and click "Add a Game" -> "Add a Non-Steam Game". Navigate to your depots folder "441/13131251/hl2.exe", then click "Add Selected Programs".

Find your new hl2.exe install in Steam, right-click, and select "Properties". Under "Launch Options" add

-game tf

You should now be able to launch hl2.exe from Steam and play your old version of TF2.

[spycrab]

so i did it and used XTR Ultimate Patch for items and it gave me exactly 1983 bats :D

[spycrab]

hopefully it will work for pre meet your match :pray:

[wersady]

Certain versions can be buggy, especially the super old versions. The x64 update also seemed to have broken some stuff that I don't fully understand. If possible, I'd try downloading a newer version and seeing if that works. Other than that it's kinda hard to know exactly what's breaking.

[spycrab]

i combined them both, yes i am launching iwth the correct launch options, its the 17 April 2013 version and it's Windows

[wersady]

Did you remember to combine the files from both downloads? Are you launching from Steam in offline mode with the correct launch option? What version of TF2 are you trying to run? What operating system?

[wersady]

I assume you're talking about downloading the game? The issue is likely caused by either your internet or Steam's servers. I would try downloading it again in a few hours.

[spycrab]

the main game is stuck on %3.53 HELP!!!

[wersady]

Should still work but some versions may be buggy/unstable. If you can, try running a newer-ish version, like something from around 2020.

[Hamn]

Does this still working? I tried july 1, 2015 patch; right before gun mettle but engine error occured with message: "item definition 1115 "#TF_TauntEngineerRancho" failed to initialize taunt data!" Already checked offline mode.

[airapples]

downloading 12 june 2014 results in most of the weapons and hats being errors and missing textures