A decade in the making, long-awaited mod Team Fortress 2 Classic has a new name and a release date following Valve clash

Team Fortress 2 stands alongside Half-Life and Portal as one of the foundational pillars of Steam itself. But perhaps it could have looked rather different. Formerly known as Team Fortress 2 Classic, a mod built by community team Eminoma is attempting to capture Valve's iconic FPS game based on "its original inspirations and tone," complete with weapons inspired by the game's pre-release oferrings and some all-new features of its own. After seeing its Steam launch delayed thanks to concerns around the name, it's now been rebranded as Team Fortress 2 Classified, and it's officially coming out in January.

"As most of you pieced together quickly, Valve requested a few months ago that we rename our mod, because the name Team Fortress 2 Classic was too similar to their Team Fortress Classic," Eminoma developer 'Nito' writes. They explain that this policy is actually a recent change by the Steam maker due to several more mods that had used the 'classic' term "in ways that unintentionally made them look like official Valve products." Nito also notes that, due to another new restriction around mods having demos, it couldn't have launched one anyway.

Given that a demo was off the table, the team "instead focused our time on ensuring that a rebrand was done properly." In fact, it says that 'Classified' was "not seriously considered" in its initial thoughts, but that it "began to indisputably win out. Not only is it remarkably similar in terms of phonetics, but it also serves as a double entendre, with 'classify' both evoking 'to make something classic' and its literal definition, leaning us further into the spy film theming that early TF2 had carried. Most importantly, it just passed the vibe check."

Unfortunately, that similarity meant it fell into somewhat of a "gray area" in the naming policy, and with each review taking "up to several weeks each time," the rebranding process ended up running for a few months, which has pushed the release back. "Steamworks review is a factor that we cannot control," the developer notes.

"Communication can be slow and inconsistent, and we need padding in our timeline to ensure there are no last-minute delays," Nito remarks. "We want this game to be out as much as you do, but we only have one chance to make a first impression, and we need to do it right. Besides, it wouldn't be an authentic TF2 experience without a bit of Valve time. Thank you for being patient, and see you on January 30, 2026."

In case you're not sure what to expect, Team Fortress 2 Classic includes a range of features inspired by the shooter's original vibes and scrapped content. There's the Civilian, a special class for VIP mode based on the legacy Team Fortress character that buffs nearby teammates. Then you've got the Nail Gun, Dynamite Pack, and Tranquilizer Gun, all redesigned from their original incarnations in the TF2 pre-release. Multi-team maps add the GRN and YLW factions into the mix, ramping the chaos for several game types.

On top of this, there are a whole range of all-new features that Eminoma has introduced in the spirit of TF2. That includes game modes like Domination and VIP Race, complete with their own official maps, and various new in-house weapons and tools such as jump pads, flak cannons, bricks, chain-wrapped fists, and more. Development has been in progress since 2014, and it's only going upwards from here; the team says you can "anticipate new weapons, modes, and characters as Team Fortress 2 Classified grows."

The Team Fortress 2 Classified release date is Friday January 30, 2026 on Steam. You can add it to your wishlist now to be notified when it launches. Keep in mind that you'll need a copy of Team Fortress 2 on your account to play, but given that it's been free for many years now that's more of a formality than anything.