What you need to know
- A Valve asset repository leak has given the gaming community access to over 61GB of maps, models, textures, and more for Team Fortress 2, Valve’s legendary class-based shooter from 2007.
- Community members have already discovered and shared many of these unused pieces of content on social media, and more discoveries are sure to come over time as fans comb through the leaked files.
- Some of the most notable discoveries include unused taunt animations, a sequel to the iconic map Dustbowl, several tutorial maps for the Soldier’s “rocket jumping” mechanic, and a gigantic three-legged robot.
A massive leak of a Valve asset repository has been released, resulting in the reveal of over 61GB of unused Team Fortress 2 (TF2) maps, models, textures, animations, and more. While some of the cut content included in the leak has been seen before in concept art or screenshots from previous leaks, tons of it has never been seen before and reveals significant details about what Valve had in store for its popular class-based shooter.
Since the files became available online, fans have been digging through them to see what lies within. So far, countless unused maps have been found, ranging from simple test levels for AI-controlled bots and training maps for the Soldier’s “rocket jumping” mechanic to brand new maps for modes like King of the Hill, Payload, Payload Race, and Mann vs. Machine that appear to have been scrapped during the development process. There’s even a sequel to the classic TF2 map Dustbowl — simply titled “Dustbowl 2” — that bears a significant resemblance to the official Payload map Gold Rush.
Unused taunt animations for the Scout, Heavy, and Sniper classes have all been discovered as well. Some variations of existing taunts have also been spotted, such as this alternate version of the Skullcracker taunt for the Spy class that never made it into TF2 officially.
The leak has also given fans a peek at a gigantic three-legged robot, which may have been the final boss of TF2’s cancelled Raid game type that is believed to have become Mann vs. Machine. One screenshot even shows the robot next to a “Mecha Level 4 Sentry Gun” model. This humorously upgraded version of the Engineer’s Sentry Gun was also revealed to be part of the Raid experience in a previous leak.
There’s a ton of stuff here, and with 61GB of files to sift through, it’s likely that all of it won’t be fully uncovered by the community for awhile. We wouldn’t be surprised if TF2’s dedicated modding teams are planning to create playable versions of the maps in the leak, though.
At the time of writing, Valve has yet to comment on this leak, though we’ll update this article if it does moving forward. Notably, the company hasn’t made statements about TF2 since it promised it would solve the game’s hacker problem in May 2022.
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