Team Fortress 2 is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by the Valve Corporation. A sequel to Valve's previous Team Fortress Classic, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on 10 October 2007 for Windows and the Xbox 360. A PlayStation 3 version then followed on 22 November 2007. The game was later released as a standalone package for Windows on 9 April 2008. Team Fortress 2 was distributed online through the Steam system, while retail distribution was handled by Electronic Arts. The development of Team Fortress 2 was led by John Cook and Robin Walker, the designers who originally created the Team Fortress modification for Quake in 1996.

The game was announced in 1998, powered by Valve's GoldSrc engine, but has since been through various concepts and designs. In 1999, the game appeared to be deviating from its predecessors by pursuing a more realistic and militaristic style of gameplay, but the design metamorphosed over its nine-year development period. The final rendition sports cartoon style visuals influenced by the art of J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and Norman Rockwell and powered by the Source engine. The game itself revolves around two teams, each with access to nine distinct characters, battling in a variety of game modes set in evil genius environments.

The lack of information or apparent progress for six years of the game's development caused it to be labeled as vaporware, and it was regularly featured in Wired News' annual vaporware list among other ignominies. Upon its release, the game received critical acclaim and several awards, being praised for its graphics, balanced gameplay, comedic value and for its use of full character personalities in a dedicated multiplayer game.

Gameplay

Like its predecessors, Team Fortress 2 is focused around two opposing teams competing for an objective. These two teams are meant to represent a demolition and a construction company: Reliable Excavation and Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU). Players can choose to play as one of nine classes in these teams, each with his own unique strengths and weaknesses. Although the abilities of a number of classes have changed from earlier Team Fortress incarnations, the basic elements of each class have remained. The game was released with six official maps, although seven extra maps and five arena maps have been included in subsequent updates. When players join a level for the first time, an introductory video shows how to complete its objectives. Player limits are 24 on the PC, although the player limit has been altered on some servers to reach as high as 32, and 16 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In addition, a number of community assembled levels have been released.