Team Fortress 2
Released 10 October 2007 Developer Valve
A cartoon-styled team shooter in which two teams of players pick from nine character classes, such as the Scout, Medic and Heavy, and fight over objectives like capturing points or carrying a briefcase. It has been played online since 2007, and is aimed at teenagers and adults who enjoy fast, competitive matches.
Money health
HarmfulChance, compulsion or exploitation
Addictive design
Moderate3 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price
FreeSteam (AU)
Spending ceiling
No ceilingRepeat purchases, no limit
Australian rating
Mild nudity, mild violence (rating shown on the Australian Steam page)
How it makes money
Harmful: chance, compulsion or exploitation
Team Fortress 2 was sold in a box (as part of The Orange Box) from 2007 and became free to play on 23 June 2011. Valve now earns money from cosmetic items such as hats, sold in the in-game Mann Co. Store, and from crates that can only be opened with a paid key (a key costs roughly A$3, going by the lowest Steam Market listing on 22 October 2026). A free account has a small 50-slot backpack and limited trading and crafting until its first purchase of any amount, which makes it a 'premium' account. Typical spend can be nothing at all, but rare crate items are resold for much more.
How you pay
- Loot boxes
Mann Co. Supply Crates are opened with keys sold for money; 'Unusual' hats are the rare prize (nominally about a 1% chance). Valve blocked crate opening in Belgium and the Netherlands in July 2018, and New York's Attorney General sued Valve in February 2026 over loot boxes in this game, Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
- Free-to-play
Free since 23 June 2011. A free account has 50 backpack slots and limited trading and crafting; any purchase in the Mann Co. Store upgrades it to premium (300 slots, full trading, access to rare and cosmetic drops).
- Cash trading
Players can swap items with each other and sell them on the Steam Community Market for Steam Wallet funds, which can be spent on games and other items.
minor part of the game - Cosmetics
The Mann Co. Store sells hats and other cosmetic items for real money. Valve says virtually all of its store items can also be found in-game.
Techniques it uses to keep you paying or playing
- Skin betting
TF2 items are used on outside gambling sites, though less than Counter-Strike skins. Valve said in early 2017 that it would act against sites and accounts that gamble with TF2 items.
minor part of the game - Made scarce
Free accounts get a much smaller backpack, limited crafting and trading, and no rare or cosmetic drops until they make a first purchase. Unusual items are deliberately very rare.
minor part of the game
Fairer alternatives
Similar games with a healthier money model
What it costs
Free to start, then A$3.27–A$28.30 a purchase
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Fortress 2 Free to play |
Steam (AU) · PC | Free | Oct 2026 |
| Mann Co. Supply Crate Key (lowest listing) Player-set market price, not a Valve store price; one key opens one crate |
Steam Community Market (AU) · PC | A$3.27 | Oct 2026 |
| The Orange Box Bundle that includes Team Fortress 2 and other Valve games |
Steam (AU) · PC | A$28.30 | Oct 2026 |
| Fight Songs: The Music of Team Fortress 2 Soundtrack |
Steam (AU) · PC | A$18.40 | Oct 2026 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
92Metacritic
Metascore
Metascore
Very PositiveSteam
player reviews
player reviews
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90/ 100
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90/ 100
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85/ 100
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100/ 100
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings & content
What's in it
Content labels
- Violencemoderate
Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.
From ACB, PEGI and USK descriptors - Sex & nuditymild
Sexual references, innuendo, sexualised imagery, nudity and sex scenes.
From ACB descriptors
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- Text and voice chat
- Players can interact with strangers
- Contains user-made content (not pre-checked by the developer)
- Needs an online account
- Terms of service minimum age: 13
Matches are played on public servers, including community servers run by third parties rather than by Valve, with open text and voice chat between strangers. Maps and cosmetics made by the community are distributed through the Steam Workshop. Steam's subscriber agreement requires users to be at least 13. Item trading and Steam Market sales are open to premium accounts and, as Wikipedia notes, have exposed players to fraud.
Who makes it
The company behind it, and its track record
- Loot-box action
Loot-box enforcement
Belgian Gaming Commission, April 2018: found paid Counter-Strike: Global Offensive loot boxes were in breach of Belgian gambling law. - Misleading ads
Misleading-marketing action
Federal Court of Australia ordered Valve to pay A$3 million in December 2016 for misrepresenting Australian consumers' refund rights on Steam. - Competition law
Competition-law action
European Commission fined Valve €1,624,000 in January 2021 for geo-blocking PC games; the EU General Court upheld the decision in 2023.
Latest on the record
- Court case
Brazilian first-instance court ordered R$10 million in loot-box damages, subject to appeal
Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Technical Note 55/2026) - Regulator action
New York Attorney General sued Valve alleging its loot boxes are illegal gambling
New York State Attorney General - Court case
UK tribunal allowed £656 million collective claim over Steam pricing to proceed
Competition Appeal Tribunal
A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC Released in The Orange Box on 10 Oct 2007 (North America); standalone and free-to-play from 2011 |
10 October 2007 | Store page |
| Linux / Steam Deck | 14 February 2013 | Store page |
| PlayStation 3 As part of The Orange Box; PS3 servers were shut down on 29 March 2023 |
22 November 2007 | — |
| Xbox 360 As part of The Orange Box |
10 October 2007 | — |
Further reading
- Official website
- Valve: Team Fortress 2 free-to-play FAQ (free and premium accounts)
- New York Attorney General sues Valve over loot boxes in Counter-Strike, Team Fortress and Dota (25 Feb 2026)
- Team Fortress 2 on Wikipedia
- Wikipedia
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, www.teamfortress.com, www.teamfortress.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, ag.ny.gov, store.steampowered.com, steamcommunity.com, www.metacritic.com, pegi.info. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.