Valve Admits TF2's New Casual Mode "Had A Rough Launch," Plans Changes

By Jason Winter, News Editor Posted: July 11, 2016

It seems like not everyone is pleased with Team Fortress 2's big update from last week. In particular, Casual Mode, the 12v12 mode formed via matchmaking has cheesed off several of TF2's non-competitive players, bringing with it a host of new restrictions and other undesirable elements.

As Valve itself admits in a blog post, Casual Mode has "had a rough launch." In response to player concerns, a number of changes are in the works, namely:

A bug fix for long queue times.

Removal of a 10-minute timeout penalty for abandoning matches.

More matchmaking variables, such as map selection.

Valve also apologized for not spelling out the non-functionality of Casual Mode levels; they are simply a means of tracking how much you've played and have no impact on matchmaking and do not represent skill levels.

As for the success of the update in general, it's been minimal. Steamspy's peak concurrent user count for TF2 nudged up a little over the weekend, from about 66,000 to 72,000. Maybe some of the promised changes can bring back some of the people who might have abandoned TF2 for the new shininess that is Overwatch.

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In this article: Team Fortress 2, Valve.

About the Author

Jason Winter, News Editor

Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.