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Team Fortress 2 bolstered by body warmers and bathing equipment in End of the Line

Team Fortress 2

Even before Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 item makers starting earning an average of $15,000 each, the shooter community was getting organised. Last year, TF2 item creators marshalled a team and, with the backing of Valve, released the Robotic Boogaloo update to “huge success”.

The Boogaloo was a test, to see if the TF2 community could follow through on an ambitious project with deadlines – and they passed. Hence today’s End of the Line release – a bundle of community cosmetics, taunts and tools, built and deployed by the most able fans on the Steam Workshop.

Everything around today’s update, including its update page and the animated not-so-short below, was put together by the End of the Line team – and proceeds from the “warm-n-comfy” winter gear they’ve designed will directly support the item creators and movie makers involved.

“After the huge success of the last community-made update, we knew it was only a matter of time before some of you got together and tried to top it,” wrote Valve. “Introducing the End of the Line Update, all thought up and designed by the TF2 community. Awesome job!”

End of the Line has been a year in the making, and incorporates hats, “hat-like body coverings”, a couple of unusual effects, a taunt and a new weapon.

The weapon is the Crossing Guard – a railway warning post removed from its moorings and repurposed as a bludgeon.

The taunt is a Pyro-organised Pool Party – a paddling pool livened up by gasoline, a lighter and a rubber duck. The duck crops up again, looking a little blackened, as an unusual.

Ducks can be collected from the corpses of TF2 players throughout the associated event, which will run till January 5 and feature badges for stat-tracking. Support the effort by buying the merch – posters and t-shirts plastered with a lovely Bondian image. Do you think you might?

Did you know? Some Team Fortress 2 item makers earn six figure incomes. Yup.