With the recent announcement that the Call of Duty game is likely to go to a subscription model, the Repoman has been understandably unhappy with the current state of video games.  Developers charge $60 dollars or more for a new game which they build, for better or worse, to be enjoyed online.  This requires you to pay for an online gaming subscription now (Xbox 360) or deal with identity theft (PS3) later.  Not ideal.

And now, greedy developers want to squeeze more out of their gamers by trying to charge to get on board?   What are gamers to do?

Well, thankfully, the boys at Valve get it and are taking their insanely popular “Team Fortress 2″ game online for the incredible price of…wait for it….FREE!

That’s right, according to Techland,”Valve announced that Team Fortress 2 was going free-to-play. That means that instead of paying an upfront price to get the core game, you can download and play it for nothing.
Valve’s FAQ says that they’re not nerfing the experience at all and that all of the game content can be accessed for free. All those hats and the other highly desirable in-game goodies can be acquired through achievements, crafting or drops, meaning that you can make, earn or find them. Of course, if you want that stuff without all the work, you can buy some of it via the “Steam Wallet” feature that exists already.”

Let’s see…offer a full fledgedvproduct that people will(and already do) love for free and make money by selling upgrades and other content. Are you listening EA?

Hats off to Valve!