The shelf life of Team Fortress 2 is reaching legendary status. The game is a consistent presence on Steam’s Most Played list, usually falling somewhere between third and fifth place, despite launching 10 years ago as part of the Orange Box. Valve is rewarding the TF2 community’s continued loyalty with a new map and other content that finally shifts the action away from the industrial sites and logging camps we’ve been exploring for the last decade.
The next Team Fortress 2 update will move the multiplayer shooter’s cartoonish violence to a new destination: Mercenary Park. Originally envisioned as a Yeti-fighting arena by the one and only Saxton Hale, Mercenary Park becomes home to the ongoing war between Red and Blue after the Australian brawler explodes the facility’s last Yeti. With his fist.
Like most Team Fortress 2 events, Jungle Inferno will unfurl over multiple days (four for JI). Day One brought five new maps, one each for the game’s most popular match types, and more than half a dozen new taunts for the TF2 roster. Additional content will continue to emerge throughout the week, culminating with the Jungle Inferno finale on Thursday, Oct. 19. We can only hope that Mercenary Park’s biggest influence -- a certain dinosaur-obsessed book/film franchise -- begins to show through a bit more as the week progresses. Fortunately, Valve wears its inspirations on its sleeve. And we’d like to think that bodes well for all the Jurassic Park fans in the TF2 community.
“If Jurassic Park taught us one thing, it's life finds a way. If Jurassic Park taught us two things, it's life finds a way and Jurassic Park is a good idea to steal for an update,” the TF2 team wrote. “And if Valve's legal team has taught us one thing, it was by screaming at us about not telling you the second thing Jurassic Park taught us.”
For a little backstory on the change of scenery coming to Team Fortress 2 , take a few minutes to watch the Jungle Inferno announcement trailer (embedded up top). Then hit the comments and let us know where else you’d like to see the Mann Co. crew travel to in future TF2 patches.
Team Fortress 2 is currently available for Windows, OS X and SteamOS.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Team Fortress 2 news in 2017 and however long Valve continues supporting Team Fortress 2 in the years ahead.
