After a lot of speculation, the guys at TeamFortress.tv have revealed that Valve is finally planning a competitive matchmaking system for the spectacularly popular Team Fortress 2. The group described a meeting they held with Valve where the team revealed their plans to implement the system sometime in the future. While still in development, the team was excited and expressed a desire to look to competitive players to find ways to build and format the system. Most likely, the system will include a 6 v 6 and 9 v 9 (or highlander) competitive mode. The team at Valve also expressed that they would like to use matchmaking in the future as a way to highlight item balancing, and find better ways to balance items for competitive play. This system has been long awaited by Team Fortress players, and will likely increase interest in the competitive TF2 community.
They also hinted at a streaming list to be integrated into the game menu. Described as being similar to Counter Strike: Global Offensive's system, the tab would allow players to view other streamers, and would include announcements about major events. TeamFortress.tv said this was a move towards working more with the Team Fortress 2 community. The guys from TeamFortress.tv also shared a list of bugs and issues some players have faced. Matchmaking and ranking has been tested and has been listed as a major priority, but there is no official timeline for release. TeamFortress.tv predicted that release could happen within a couple of months.
Valve also showcased their new VR demo, but sparing details, TeamFortress.tv simply implied it was absolutely mind blowing.
Matchmaking has been a highly desired system in the Team Fortress 2 community and subject to several rumors. TeamFortress.tv will be releasing a Fully Charged episode discussing their meeting with Valve at greater length on May 1st. Valve has yet to release any official statement on the potential matchmaking features.
