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After years of abandonment, Team Fortress 2 fans rejoice over a patch that grants 25% extra FPS

Team Fortress 2, a popular first-person shooter game, has received a significant update in 2024, bringing 64-bit support to Windows and Linux clients and servers. This update improves performance and frame rates for many players, with some reporting an 18-25% boost. However, Mac users with macOS Catalina or later will still be unable to play due to the lack of 32-bit support. Despite the lack of new content, fans are excited about the performance improvements and hope it signals more positive changes for the game in the future.

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This is not a drill: Team Fortress 2 has received a brand new update in 2024, and fans are ecstatic, despite the patch notes themselves being very brief. 

At long last, the update has "added 64-bit support for Windows/Linux client and server," which "should include performance improvements for most users." Upgrading from 32-bit means that Team Fortress 2 will be able to handle more memory, essentially meaning it'll be able to run better and with a higher frame rate. One fan on Twitter estimates that players will see a frame rate boost of "around 18-25%," and plenty have already reported major improvements while playing.

team fortress 2 has been updated to 64-bit! - TF2 will receive significant FPS boost around 18-25%. More than when CS:GO and GMOD got ported.- first major changes to TF2 Valve themselves have made since 2017- easier for valve 🤞 and modders to work on the gamekinda huge pic.twitter.com/ihYecyJgOtApril 18, 2024

"I'm hitting a stable 250-350FPS whilst my CPU and GPU are both under 20% load, this is genuinely very impressive holy shit," one player writes.

"I'm averaging just under 300FPS in a casual match, in 4K, without using config tricks, that was unheard of until tonight wtf," says another. 

It's not all good news though, as Mac users who've updated their macOS to 2019's 10.15 Catalina or beyond *still *won't be able to play. Apple ended support for 32-bit applications at that point, and so until the game gets updated to 64-bit there too, players who updated their OS will be stuck. As such, the decision to leave Mac out of the updated platforms is sure to be disappointing for some. 

Otherwise though, the mood is very positive within the fanbase. As veteran fans will know, TF2 has had a notable lack of major updates since 2017's Jungle Inferno Update. There was an enormous drought from that point on, although it's worth noting that we did get the big Summer 2023 Update last July, too. 

Even in this latest patch's case, it's debatable whether you can call it a 'major update' as no new content has been added, although the marked impact on performance seems significant enough in itself. Regardless, many are just thrilled to see TF2 get some positive changes, and are in agreement that "we're so back."

*For more games you can play without spending a penny, be sure to dive into our list of the top 25 best free-to-play games. *