Modders are the unsung heroes of the gaming industry. Without them, genres like MOBAs (born from RTS mods like StarCraft and Warcraft III), auto battlers (evolving directly from MOBAs like Dota 2), and even Battle Royale (thanks to an ARMA 2 mod) might not exist. That's why Valve's recent announcement is so significant.
Valve has updated its Source SDK, incorporating the complete Team Fortress 2 codebase. This empowers modders to build upon Valve's established framework, creating entirely new games. While the license requires these creations and their content to remain free, history shows that successful free projects often pave the way for commercially viable iterations.
Furthermore, Valve has released a substantial update for all Source engine multiplayer games. This update introduces 64-bit executable support, a scalable UI and HUD, fixes for client-side prediction issues, and numerous other enhancements.
This is a monumental moment for the modding community. We eagerly anticipate the innovative and groundbreaking games that will undoubtedly emerge from this opportunity.