Valve Wants Console Team Fortress 2 Maps to Stay Free

Valve Software has said it hopes to be able to offer Team Fortress 2 maps for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as free downloadable content.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve’s Doug Lombardi said downloadable maps for the console versions of the popular FPS would be coming in bundles, but that Valve was still attempting to have them released at no charge. “For free, definitely, as much as we can,” he said, when asked if the bundling would affect the cost of the maps. “You know, we don’t have full say over that, but we have some say over how that works.”

“So, for us, for free is the way to go,” he continued. “The gamers play the game, they want to keep playing the game, so we’ve collected their fifty bucks at the start, and once they’re in the park, they can ride any ride they want in the park. So, for us that’s been the philosophy.”

That philosophy comes from Valve’s roots as a PC developer, where extra content including maps and mods are typically available at no extra cost, and Lombardi said the good public relations created by such generous post-purchase support is also a driving factor. “For us, we see it as an investment on our next product. Gamers won’t hesitate when they see a game coming out from Valve,” he said. “They’ll think, “I’ve heard of this but will it be worth my money?” We want to take that off the table.”