> Almost every game developer is becoming hostile to community-run servers, > especially the largest ones. TF2 is unfortunately one of the few shooters > out there that actually still has a server browser at all.
You would have a point, except there has never been another AAA game where they started off with a server browser and then killed it off later. In any other game, people would not be afraid to call it a bait and switch. It might have been a better business plan for Valve to start with no community servers, but that time is long past. By killing them now, Valve is just throwing away their community players in a foolish effort to compete directly with Overwatch. Many community players have told me that they aren't moving back to official servers when community ones die off. They will just play Overwatch instead. If they are forced to live with teleport griefers and hackers, they will do it in a game with better graphics, new characters and mechanics, and devs that talk to the community. You can see that TF2 player counts are dropping harder than ever. And even considering monthly percent changes, you can see that the Halloween update resulted in a -5.42% player drop from the previous month, and a huge 20% drop compared to last year. How much more obvious can it get that they are going down the wrong path? October 2016 45,910.1 -5.42% October 2015 55,256.6 -0.93% October 2014 57,977.0 +5.24% http://steamcharts.com/app/440 > However, this is definitely an opportunity where something *can* still be > done about this, because the option to run a community server, and linking > people to join a specific server from the web, still exists. There is already a website like that, I forgot the name. No one ever uses it because no one is spending money to advertise it. And why should we be spending money on top of servers into a website run by an unknown 3rd party and essentially rewarding Valve for their actions by giving them more Mann Co Store customers? Everyone that would use a web browser to find servers is already comfortable using the in-game browser. The people you need to reach are the "quickplay/casual" players, and if it isn't in the game, they aren't going to bother. There is also no way you can out-advertise Valve. TF2 updates are given premium placement with millions of views on the Steam store and for every single TF2 player when they start the game. To get remotely around this amount of eyeballs, you would need to spend tens of thousands per month. This is something that only the TF2 team can fix. It is up John and Eric whether they want both a dying game and ruined reputation, or something not as bad. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
