Team Fortress 2's summer update adds new maps, taunts, Unusual effects, and more 'security and stability improvements'

The 2024 Steam Summer Sale is over, and that clears the way for the next big seasonal event in Steam's lineup: The Team Fortress 2 2024 summer update.

Just like last year's TF2 summer update, this one is chock full o' stuff made not by Valve, but by the community: 10 new community maps (Embargo, Odyssey, Megaton, Cachoeira, Overgrown, Hadal, Applejack, Atom Smash, Canaveral, and Burghausen), 23 new «community-contributed items» in the Summer 2024 Cosmetic Case, four new community-created taunts, and 38 new community-made Unusual effects: 18 for hats and 20 for taunts.

Valve contributed to the effort too, of course. Somebody had to collect all this stuff together, ensure it complies with all requisite rules and regulations, and that it doesn't actually break the game in any meaningful way. Actually pushing the update live would be a job for someone at Valve, too.

And to give all credit where it's due, the update makes an impressive pile of bug fixes, updates, and «security and stability improvements.» Valve didn't detail what exactly has been done on that front, but it comes just a few weeks after a "bot-demolishing banwave" that appeared to happen at least in part as a result of a «Save TF» fan campaign demanding that Valve fix the game. Valve has also adopted a take-no-prisoners approach to banned players: TF2 bans can be neither appealed nor removed, and Valve won't even tell people why they were given the boot.

That crackdown drove a surge in Team Fortress 2's concurrent player counts, and also helped turn around the game's user review situation. By early June, TF2's «recent reviews» rating—counting reviews posted over the past 30 days—were "overwhelmingly negative," but they now stand at «mixed,» which, while not great, is still a marked improvement. The fan campaign that helped spark the action urged its supporters to "proceed with caution," saying it is «extremely grateful» for Valve's action but warning that «persistent and continuous upkeep» will be required