Team Fortress 2 Modders Rejoice as Valve Releases Full Client and Server Game Code

Surprise! Valve has unleashed a massive update to the Source SDK, generously including the complete Team Fortress 2 client and server game code. This opens the door for players to craft entirely new games from the ground up. Unlike Steam Workshop modifications or local content mods, this update grants modders unprecedented freedom to alter, expand, and even completely rewrite Team Fortress 2 in virtually any conceivable way.

While commercialization is off the table—meaning any resulting mods or spin-off content must be freely distributed on a non-commercial basis—creations can still be published on the Steam Store, appearing as distinct games within Steam's game library.

In a blog post, Valve explained their reasoning: "Players have heavily invested in their TF2 inventories, and Steam Workshop contributors have created a significant amount of content. The majority of items in the game are thanks to the dedicated TF2 community. To honor this, we're asking TF2 mod makers to respect that connection and refrain from creating mods intended to profit from the Workshop contributors' efforts. We hope many mods will continue to allow players access to their TF2 inventories, where appropriate."

This update also extends to Valve's entire back-catalog of multiplayer Source engine titles, introducing a substantial upgrade with 64-bit binary support, scalable HUD/UI, prediction fixes, and numerous other improvements across Team Fortress 2, DoD:S, HL2:DM, CS:S, and HLDM:S.

Interestingly, December marked the release of the seventh and final update to the long-running Team Fortress 2 comic, a series that concluded after seven years. These comics have served not only as a rich source of lore and character development for fans, but also as a testament to Valve's ongoing commitment to one of its most enduring franchises.