5 years ago today, Pre-Fortress 2 was publicly released into what would become a half of a decade of twists and turns! Along the way, we’ve made a really amazing game. We are proud of the work we’ve done and are grateful to everyone who had a hand in making it. We’ve had well over 90 contributors and that’s not including the amazing community projects that have helped us get off the ground!

Thank you to our playtesters

We want to say thank you to everyone who has ever been a playtester and helped by giving us feedback. Without the feedback from the community we would not have be where we are today. We value the perspective our playtesters bring to us and their dedication to improving PF2.

Thank you to the community

It goes without saying that a game is nothing without the people who play it. Ever since launching version 0.7, we’ve had a whole host of servers taking PF2 to it’s upper limits and we’ve even had an unofficial Android port. This community has never ceases to amaze us. From a playable civilian to janky but drivable helicopters, the content produced by the community keeps us on our toes.

There’s never a dull moment when we join a community server. We’ve come a long way and seeing over a dozen servers hosted to support our game fills us with immense gratitude. The first time we saw the server counter reach over 10 was a huge milestone for us.

The humor of the community has created unforgettable moments such as the PF2 lore or the assault on beta accuracy.

Memories

We asked our team if they had any experiences over the years that they wanted to share with you all… They threw grenades at us instead!

Its cool to see our community get together for sessions, a good memory I had is when the big repo leak happened and we finally got dustbowl2. I fixed up the vmf with proper logic (and a hidden nod regarding everyone’s favorite valve mapper, Dario Casali). Once it got sent off to the custom maps server, it was played the same night and everyone joined arms to frolic around in Casali’s long lost kingdom for the first time in a decade and a half
- gamingcam2008 (Mapper)

I really love how this mod not only seeks to recreate the beta aesthetics, but also improves on them and the gameplay. There really isn’t anything else quite like pre-fortress
- Everik (Texture Artist)

I remember when this mod was the beta accurate mod. Terrible, terrible times. Nonetheless I found out so many interesting facts and tidbits about TF2’s beta. I’m so glad that PF2 is no longer the beta accurate mod, because it’s fun as hell. May the 2fort chicken live on, and Happy 5th Anniversary Pre-Fortress 2.
- dead_thing (Programming Lead)

As much as we can look back and admire the aesthetics of the beta, it’s important to remember a lot of it still needs quite a lot of polishing to make a more presentable product. There are many cool ideas and aesthetics that I hope we flesh out a lot more in the future, and steer away from trying to make them as “accurate” as possible
- HypnOS 1999 (Textures and Art Generalist)

I don’t have much to say, I’m just glad to be in a project with my loved ones :) (C-can you add the smile?)
- Jan (Sound Design)

When I joined the PF2 dev team as an artist 2 years ago. Initially I thought it was a simple tf2 beta recreation mod, but very quickly I realized it’s much more than that. PF2 is almost like a celebration for the Team Fortress Series. It’s very interesting how this project explores old ideas from previous Team Fortress games and flesh them out in so many interesting ways. I’m very grateful for every developer who works on PF2 and making this project amazing to work on.
- Justyn (3D Artist)

Pre Fortress 2 will always be my favorite sourcemod because of the seriously talented people who work on this game and the amazing PF2 community that plays it. Without those two steady support beams, this game wouldn’t have lasted longer than it has.
I really love the creative insight that the seriously dedicated developers have. To me, this game feels like a love letter to the Team Fortress franchise than just a source mod, and I am extremely excited for the future content this project awaits. Here’s to 5 more years!
- Colby (Long-time Playtester)

Another thing that I love about this community, its such a fun playground to mess around with crazy ideas outside of the main game. Case in point, helieeHunted. In the small groups of people I’ve had people on this map, its a insane sight to see people flying around in janky brushwork helicopters, carrying flags in route to the cap point.
- gamingcam2008 (Again)

I love all the weird things PF2 is willing to test, makes for some really creative and cool stuff. Been testing since 2019-ish. Can’t wait for the [REDACTED] mode
- ProfessorPootis (Long-time Playtester)

I’m so grateful about PF2 and its community. During my time here, I got motivated to start to learn how to mod and code, and the people here always helped me throughout my struggles. PF2 might not be as famous like other mods, but it has the strongest and closest community. Like a little town, I’ve met so much strange, silly, and unusual people here, and also made some really good friends. For 5 more years and beyond, Happy Anniversary!
- zebbywebby (Long-time Community Member)

I have been a dev for PF2 since 2021. This project has given me the chance to learn more about the history, the art and the craft of the things I know and love. The past few years in the team have been a challenge, as I strived to become a better developer. I still have a long way to go and I’m thankful for the dedication of the community members and fellow developers.
- NeoExperiences (Gameplay Lead and Mapper)

Pre-Fortress 2 was my first real multiplayer game with a big team. I have learned so much since I started and it has propelled me into my career in programming. Every time I come back to work on this game I feel proud of the work I’ve done and know that it makes a world of difference for the other developers on the team. Working on this project has brought me lots of joy over the years as it’s truly a project I can put passion into.
- Sour Dani (Infrastructure Lead)

What you’ve just read is from just a fraction of the talent supporting Pre-Fortress 2. Our entire community uplifts us and gives us the drive to keep working on this project. So once again we say:

Thank you, without the community, we wouldn’t be here today.

PF2 Funny Moments

Before we had the Armor model that resembles a suit, we had the Armor bag. It was a widely contested item, until this screenshot of a Demoman ragdoll on 2Fort ended the conversation once and for all. (We still think they’re nothing alike but we prefer the suit of armor.)

We’ll never forget when Pre-Fortress 2 won the TF2 Sourcemod election by a landslide. It was a good race and we were proud to have run against such major league TF2 Sourcemods, such as Greg Fortress and Hungarian Fortress.

In case you’ve forgotten, PF2 used to look a lot different! Oh god…

All hail 2Fort Chicken!
He always had our backs even in our darkest moments.

You can’t spell 2Fort without Trailer 2 Roleplay! This segment is dedicated to all the people who gave up their lives in the name of Trailer 2 RP.

Remember when we had our ARG? Oh that was good times.

Here’s some footage we just leaked of Sniper’s new grenade. We’d love to get your feedback on it.

Who could forget our most favorite cursed pose?

Not coming soon to a sourcemod near you.

Update news

We can’t end the blog post without mentioning the next update!

We’re excited to announce that version 0.7.4 is just around the corner! It features the usual bug fixes, new maps and gameplay. We really think you’ll enjoy this intermediate update while we work on 0.8! Think of it as our holiday gift to you! We were considering giving you all coal but the grenade fairy told us you were all good this year.