Valve

How many people play Team Fortress 2 — 2024 statistics

A fortifying look at Team Fortress 2 stats.

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Release Date
October 10, 2007
Genre
First-person shooter
Developer
Publisher
Valve

Valve’s iconic game, Team Fortress 2, has been a powerhouse since its 2007 release. With its captivating class-based action and diverse game modes, it offers endless replayability. But how is it performing now? We’re about to dive into the latest Team Fortress 2 statistics, revealing how many people play Team Fortress 2 even after all these years. Stay tuned for a nostalgic journey through a gaming legend’s enduring impact. We always love fetching the newest information about gaming, and if you want to learn more about similar topics, why not check out some information about the gaming industry’s revenue?

Team Fortress 2 key stats

In the golden 2007 gaming era, Team Fortress 2 set the bar high, avoiding today’s often exploitative microtransactions by keeping them cosmetic. This classic shooter still pulls on our nostalgic heartstrings, so let’s dive into its longevity. We’re zeroing in on the Team Fortress 2 player count to gauge how this veteran fares in today’s fierce gaming landscape.

Team Fortress reached an all-time high peak of 253,225 players.

(Source: Steam Charts, VG Insights)

  • Team Fortress 2 has an average of over 70,000 active players
  • Nearly 94% of reviews for the game on Steam are positive.
  • Average play time is around 693.3 hours

The game achieved an all-time high of 253,225 simultaneous players at its peak popularity. Further demonstrating the game’s longevity and fans’ enjoyment, it has received an impressive 93.9% positive review rating on Steam even after over a decade since its initial release. These player count and review percentage statistics illustrate why Team Fortress 2 remains one of Steam’s most successful and beloved multiplayer games.

Team Fortress 2 broke its own concurrent player record after 14 years at over 140,000.

(Source: IGN, Eurogamer)

  • This was most likely because Valve released an update for Team Fortress 2 that included a Summer 2021 Cosmetic Case, which fans flocked to buy.
  • This was the 132nd addition to the Crate series and featured 24 items, but Valve-made and community-made.
  • The player count dipped after the hype for the Summer 2021 Cosmetic Case died down, which is to be expected.
  • However, this bodes well for the Team Fortress community as it tells us that it is still active and dedicated to supporting its favorite game.

It seems like everything we talk about is related to hats in some way, and one of the more recent updates, in 2021, has proven that fans will flock to new crates and new content, just to unlock new hats. It also offers a new perspective on the Team Fortress 2 community, since some players have noted that the bot problem is not as severe as people initially thought, meaning that the game is still quite healthy.

Team Fortress 2 sales reached 77.5 million units on Steam.

(Source: VG Insights)

  • Perhaps most impressive is that Team Fortress 2 has sold over 77.5 million units since its initial release in 2007, cementing its status as one of the best-selling games ever on Steam.

Team Fortress 2 sales number, player count and review percentage statistics illustrate why Team Fortress 2 remains one of Steam’s most successful and beloved multiplayer games.

Valve earned $67,000 from a Team Fortress 2 item bug.

(Source: PCGamesN)

  • Back in 2019, an economy bug hit Team Fortress 2 where users would get guaranteed rare item drops from boxes.
  • This issue was patched, but not before the Team Fortress 2 Steam market was flooded with rare items, irreparably shifting the market.
  • Players traded the rare items before the issue was resolved, so Valve most likely earned an estimated $67,000 from the transactions.
  • Although there weren’t any official numbers and the number here is just a ballpark, the possible profit that Valve made might be even higher.

Bugs and glitches happen all the time, but sometimes they come with some repercussions that can mean a lot for the community. In the case of Team Fortress 2, the community encountered an issue that caused a surge in the number of rare items in the store, effectively lowering their value and filling the market with them. Of course, while this was a disaster for the Steam economy, it wasn’t as bad for Valve, who managed to accumulate a decent amount of money.

The Team Fortress 2 community earned $2 million through microtransactions one year after they were introduced.

(Source: GameSpot)

  • Players were able to purchase cosmetics through the Mannco store which provided them with a good interface to make purchases and whatnot.
  • The reason this was so successful is that Team Fortress 2 was very static when it came to its appearance.
  • When players were presented with the prospect of buying hats and making their own, it brought forth a surge in community creativity, and it lead to what we have today.
  • Another driving factor behind the success of Team Fortress 2 microtransactions is the fact that they were introduced when the digital sales market was being established.

The concept of Team Fortress 2 hats emerged back in 2011 when Valve created the Mannco shop, which allowed players to trade, sell, and buy items as they wanted. It was a massive success immediately and through the next year, the service managed to rake in over $2 million, which is an immense step for the digital sales market. Later, when the Steam Market was established, Team Fortress 2 hats were prevalent there as well, amassing even more money for both Valve and cosmetic creators.

The Team Fortress 2 revenue was reported to be at $50 million after microtransactions were introduced.

(Source: Kotaku)

  • The amount of money is referring either to the money that Valve made from the microtransaction or to the money that was floating in the market at the time.
  • Team Fortress 2 players invested $1.54 million into the market each week.
  • The minimum figure for the value of the economy at that time was $52.7 million.
  • However, these were just estimates as the actual number was probably double this figure.

We’ve already mentioned the success that microtransactions have brought Valve, and this line of stats serves as a means of putting a clear number to the transactions. $50 million is a huge number, and Team Fortress 2 managed to achieve that within one year of the concept of microtransactions becoming a reality for the game. Of course, the current numbers are bound to be a bit lower as the game has slightly decreased in popularity and its player count, but the Team Fortress 2 community is still thriving and dedicated to the game, so it’s definitely not dead.

Team Fortress 2 is still in the top 10 most-played Steam games.

(Source: Steam Charts)

  • Its all-time peak player count was 150,037.
  • It has an average player count of approximately 90,000.
  • The game is ranked #6 based on player count on Steam, and it is behind Lost Ark, PUBG, Apex Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
  • Players have invested 66.2 million hours into playing Team Fortress 2.

The final line of stats is another testament to the number of people who play Team Fortress 2 regularly, and the numbers are quite impressive. Even though the game came out back in 2007, it has still remained popular and will stay that way for years to come. Because of the gameplay dynamic and its reputation, Team Fortress 2 is essentially an immortal game.

Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 cosmetic creators earned an average of $15,000 in 2013.

(Source: The Verge)

  • In 2010, Team Fortress 2 had 63 creators who made 106 items, followed by a payout of $590,900.
  • In 2013, the game had 661 creators who made 2,349 items, followed by a payout of $10,215,796.
  • At that time, Valve said that 90% of the total items in Team Fortress 2 came from the community.
  • 17 million users owned 500 million in-game items.

Cosmetics are a massive thing in both Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2, and Valve places great importance on giving back to its community, so creators can earn a percentage of the sales of their cosmetics, which went from an average of $9,000 to $15,000 in three years, which is a massive step up from humble beginnings. With some of the Team Fortress 2 cosmetics selling for upwards of $10,000, you can see why it is important that the person who created these receive some form of compensation.

To sum up

Even though the game has kind of been abandoned by Valve in a way and there is no third installment on the horizon, we are still happy to be able to report on the state of Team Fortress 2 because it is one of the essential Valve games to try out if you want the full experience. In either case, Team Fortress 2 has established itself as one of the most beloved and classic games of 2007 and beyond, and when you look at all of the statistics surrounding it, it is not a stretch to say that the game is doing perfectly fine, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Now that we are done with what we had today, we hope that you have enjoyed the content here and that all of your questions have been answered.

Sources

  • “Team Fortress 2 leads as biggest player counts on Steam revealed”. GamesIndustry.biz, 2018, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/team-fortress-2-leads-as-biggest-player-counts-on-steam-revealed
  • “On average, ‘Team Fortress 2’ and ‘DOTA 2’ item creators made $15,000 last year”. The Verge, 2014, https://www.theverge.com/gaming/2014/1/16/5316248/on-average-team-fortress-2-and-dota-2-item-creators-made-15000-last
  • “Team Fortress 2 Steam stats”. VG Insights, 2023, https://vginsights.com/game/440
  • “Team Fortress 2”. Steam Charts, 2023, https://steamcharts.com/app/440#All
  • “Valve might have earned $67k from the Team Fortress 2 economy bug”. PCGamesN, 2019,https://www.pcgamesn.com/team-fortress-2/tf2-economy-profit
  • “Team Fortress 2 community earns $2 million through in-game market”. GameSpot, 2011, https://www.gamespot.com/articles/team-fortress-2-community-earns-2-million-through-in-game-market/1100-6340079/
  • “Microtransactions invade Team Fortress 2”. PCGamesN, 2011, https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microtransactions-invade-team-fortress-2/1100-6280315/
  • “Valve’s “entire asset repository” leaks online, including cut content for Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life games”. Eurogamer, 2023, https://www.eurogamer.net/valves-entire-asset-repository-leaks-online-including-cut-content-for-team-fortress-2-and-half-life-games
  • “Analyst Pegs Team Fortress 2 Hat Economy at $50 Million”. Kotaku, 2011, https://kotaku.com/analyst-pegs-team-fortress-2-hat-economy-at-50-million-5869042
  • “Team Fortress 2 Just Broke Its Steam Concurrent Players Record After 14 Years”. IGN, 2021, https://www.ign.com/articles/team-fortress-2-just-broke-its-steam-concurrent-players-record-after-14-years
  • “Valve’s 2007 shooter Team Fortress 2 just broke its all-time Steam concurrent players count”. Eurogamer, 2021, https://www.eurogamer.net/valves-2007-shooter-team-fortress-2-just-broke-its-all-time-steam-concurrent-players-count
  • “Team Fortress 2”. Steam Charts, 2023, https://steamcharts.com/app/440
  • “Top Games by Current Players”. Steam Charts, 2023, https://steamcharts.com/top