Team Fortress 2 players plan peaceful protest to further highlight bot issues

TF2
(Image credit: Valve)

Over 35 Team Fortress 2 content creators are gathering to hold a peaceful protest in hopes of getting the long-running FPS game “back in good health” by further driving public awareness around botting issues. 

The protest goes ahead on May 26 on various social media platforms through #SaveTF2 from around 10am PDT / 3pm EDT / 6pm BST onward. The emphasis is on ‘peaceful’ here, as the plan is for everyone to post about how much the game means to them and how much they care. You can expect to see such messages through the hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. 

“This will be a very peaceful protest just reminding everyone that we love this game – please don't send hate towards Valve,” one of the organisers explains on Reddit. “We will be representing the TF2 community, so let's do it right!”

The announcement post on the TF2 subreddit is gaining a lot of traction, too. At the time of writing, the protest reveal has nearly reached 27,000 upvotes. 

News of a peaceful virtual protest follows further recent efforts from fans to make everyone aware of TF2’s bot issues. One content creator called SquimJim – who is also attending the rally – encouraged fans to make the issue known to the media and Valve employees, which has led to more coverage of the problem.

It’s certainly made its mark, too, as Medic voice actor Robin Atkin Downes has reached out to Valve personally as a result. Downes encouraged fans to continue to protest in a “peaceful, passionate manner” while they wait for a reply. It remains to be seen how Valve might respond, though they’re certainly doing just that. 

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Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.