Team Fortress 2 Summer 2023 Update Patch Notes: What’s New in TF2

The Team Fortress 2 Summer 2023 update patch notes are here and detail what’s new in TF2, Valve’s nearly 16-year-old shooter. It adds a plethora of community-made content, from VS Saxton Hale to 14 maps, six taunts, and 20 Unusual effects. With the update, Valve also took the time to blast a few bugs and supply some quality-of-life updates while improving things like security, stability, and optimization.

Team Fortress 2 Summer 2023 Update Patch Notes

Here are the full Team Fortress 2 Summer 2023 update patch notes per Valve:

Summer 2023!

• Featuring 14 new community maps: Sharkbay, Rotunda, Phoenix, Cashworks, Venice, Reckoner, Sulfur, Hardwood, Pelican Peak, Selbyen, VSH Tiny Rock, VSH Distillery, VSH Skirmish, and VSH Nucleus
• Added the Summer 2023 Cosmetic Case
  • Contains 25 new community-contributed items
• Added 6 new community-contributed taunts to the Mann Co. Store
  • Taunt: Killer Joke
  • Taunt: Star-Spangled Strategy
  • Taunt: The Head Doctor
  • Taunt: Tuefort Tango
  • Taunt: The Road Rager
  • Taunt: The Killer Signature
• Added 20 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 12 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 8 new effects for Unusual taunts
• Added the Summer 2023 War Paint Case
  • Contains 10 new community-created War Paints that make-up the Summer 2023 Collection
  • Has a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item
• All cosmetic and taunt cases will grant Summer 2023 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the Summer event. This does not include crates.
• The Summer event runs through September 15th, 2023

General

• Security and stability improvements
• Fixed the Mann vs. Machine upgrade panel closing after receiving a matchmaking party invite
• Fixed an exploit related to the ConTracker and being able to move/shoot while it’s deployed
• Fixed the Strange Count Transfer Tool not being able to transfer stats for Sandvich items
• Fixed the Engineer not being able to move for a short period of time after doing The High Five taunt
• Fixed missing No Headphones style for the Universal Translator
• Fixed Engineer teleporter audio that was referencing the dispenser by mistake in Spanish
• Fixed incorrect alpha channels for the Smissmas 2021/2022 Cosmetic Case models
• Fixed the Winter 2019 War Paint Case not being shown in the Mann Co. Store
• Updated/Added some tournament medals
• Updated pl_enclosure_final to fix localization issues
• Updated cp_gravelpit_snowy
  • Boosted volume of snowman explosions
  • Added occluders to C to improve performance
  • Improved clipping
• Updated cp_steel
  • Prop collision cleanup and improved player clipping
  • Explosive splash bug collisions on stairs, props, etc., around the map
  • Spawn point issues (collision, prop blocking, clipping, etc.)
  • Fix Pyro door exploit on A
  • Fix choke and spam issues into Blu & Red spawns
  • Fix Pixel walk collision issues
  • Fixing ceiling clipping and stuck spots including exploits
  • Clean up geometry in spawns, the spawn locations and their exits
  • Fix roof readability issues, with sticky and rocket jumping
  • Fix rare double death bug when falling into pit
  • Fix Cliff stuck spots and ledges in E pit
  • Removed head glitch tele spawn on A-B connector
  • Fix rare overtime cap bug
  • Fix Red team getting stuck in spawn door to A
• Updated cp_mossrock
  • Fixed numerous perch points
  • Fixed players being able to get under Blu spawn
  • Fixed a location where a teleporter could be build out of the map
  • Fixed collision on rock near final point so it is more accurate to the visuals
  • Fixed lots of small visual bugs
  • Fixed some small exploits
  • Improved optimization

We knew these patch notes were inbound at some point. Valve teased the Summer 2023 update way back in February, breaking more than two years of silence on their 2007 team-based shooter. The company asked for community submissions, and it looks like the call was answered.

The TF2 Summer 2023 Update released on July 12, 2023, and players charged back to the game in impressive numbers. According to Steam DB, Team Fortress 2 reached a new all-time peak of 253,997 concurrent players just one day after the content dropped. That’s over 86,000 more players than the previously charted peak of 167,951 in June 2021. If you go by Steam Charts, that number climbs to more than 100,000, with the database claiming a lower June 2021 concurrent peak of 150, 037. Either way, not bad for a game old enough to drive.