Time to brush up on your modding skills? Modders who created content for Team Fortress 2 have earned nearly $50,000 apiece. So, let’s say you create a hat. A few months later you’re driving around in a fancy car, not unlike the id Software guys from way back when.

Right now, the money split is 75/25 in favor of Valve.

That is, Valve keeps 75 percent of the money earned with the sale of the created items, while the creator keeps 25 percent.

From the outside looking in that seems a little too lopsided in Valve’s favor—Apple only takes 30 percent of your App Store revenue—but if the modders are fine with it who am I to poke my nose in?

The Team Fortress 2 store launched a few weeks ago, and it only works with the PC version of the game (as if anyone plays the Xbox 360 version).

The highest earner made $47,000, which means Valve made some $140,000.

Mad money, as they say.

OK, so a few minutes ago I got a press release from Valve talking about the latest Team Fortress 2 update. I read the subject line and was like, “Oh, I bet they added a bunch of stuff. Neat.” But then I read the press release.

So here it is, in all of its glory:

September 30, 2010 – Badlands, New Mexico. Mann Co., the industry leader in selling products and getting in fights, today announced the deployment of the Mann-Conomy initiative to the warring mercenary factions in the ongoing global war between Builders League United (BLU) and Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED). The Mann-Conomy initiative represents the largest introduction of new items in the company’s history, available for immediate trading, use, and sale.

“This brutal, endless war between BLU and RED is, of course, lamentable,” said C.P. Bidwell, assistant to Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale. “So if letting mercenaries buy, trade and sell Mann Co. products helps make this ongoing tragedy more enjoyable for both sides, then we’ve done our part. The Mann-Conomy initiative is, at the end of the day, a humanitarian effort.”

The first update in this ongoing initiative will involve 65 new items overall-including the introduction of five new Class Weapon Kits, 18 new hats, and an all-new way to get in an additional fight during an existing one: dueling pistols.

The Mann-Conomy initiative will allow BLU and RED mercenaries to finally trade items with each other, escalating hostilities further through emotionally wrenching haggling sessions over hats.

Mercenaries who purchase items through the Mann Co. Store will not have an advantage over their rivals. “We want to make sure that our customers still have a terrific experience on the battlefield whether they buy anything or not,” says Bidwell. “All the existing ways they were able to get their hands on weaponry still exist without them having to spend any money.”

“Steam”, a revolutionary Mann Co. technology developed in cooperation with Newell & Sons (a small Bellevue, WA based company specializing in hat-themed war simulation), utilizes a global network of pneumatic tubes that will allow mercenaries to equip themselves instantly without leaving the heat of battle. Mann Co. is currently accepting Euros, United States Dollars, and British Pounds, as all of these currencies will fit in the tubes.

For more information about the Mann-Conomy, please visit http://www.teamfortress.com/

About Mann Co. Mann Co. is a global weapons manufacturer that makes square, unsafe products for men and gets in fights. Founded in Australia and based in America, Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale prides himself on his hands-on customer relations: “If you have a problem with any Mann Co. product, you can take it up with me!”

Why can’t every company be even one-tenth as fun as Valve?

Probably should have mentioned this yesterday, but such is life. Valve is running a fun little content wherein you get to DESCRIBE HATS~! in Team Fortress 2. The name of the contest? “The First Ever Hat Describing Contest.” Two thumbs up.

It really could not be simpler.

On Valve’s forums there’s a series of posts featuring various hats. You’re to take that hat, and come up with its backstory.

I’d come up with one right now, but I’ve just received a very important package that I have to attend to.

What can you possibly win here? Should your description win, Valve will actually use it on the game. That’s pretty neat, right?

Your words will forever live in the minds of Team Fortress 2 gamers!

A few of you may already know that Team Fortress 2 didn’t always look like Toy Story más violence, but for the unawares: it did. So, proof! A certain Curits Lassam, friend to all, found an old PC Gamer preview from the year two-thousand that described the game in its old, Counter-Strike-like art style. Yuck.

It’s safe to say I wouldn’t have spent nearly as much time sniping those red dogs if the game looked realistic. There’s a certain charm to mayhem and carnage when it looks like Buzz Lightyear.

The video above (might be NSFW – lots of up-skirt, panty shots) shows a nearly completed female Scout mod that will soon have everything from custom taunts to an appropriate voice. The video after the jump shows Sleuth, a clever mod available on www.team-viper.com servers where a spy can turn into a dispenser or sentry gun. Now where is that petition to have Valve release these officially…

Oh man, these TF2 videos are great. This one could be the best as we hear the Spy’s true feelings about each class. He really hates the Pyro. And getting the Sniper’s piss thrown on him. I would hate that too.

The first item the scout receives is the “Sandman,” which allows you to whack baseballs at fools, who will be stunned for a length of time depending on how far the ball flew. Can’t say I look forward to being domed like that. How embarrassing.

Oh, and I’ve tried messing with directory and image names, can’t seem to find anything ahead of time. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me.

Here’s a fine way to spend that $10 you still have in your pocket after last night’s Crazy Night Out: Team Fortress 2 for $9.99 on Steam for the PC.

For the uninitiated, Team Fortress 2 is still the reason I have The Orange Box handy, despite the fact that it’s the lesser Xbox 360 version. Though, as you know, my patience for shooters has pretty much run out, TF2 is well worth any price you pay for it.

via videogaming247

Over at TIGSource they’ve been running a “Bootleg Demakes” competition that I’ve been following, in which developers are to take a modern game and “demake” it into something old-school and awesome, kind of the opposite of what developers tend to do today. Here’s one standout (and complete) entry, Gang Garrison 2 — obviously based on TF2, but featuring the kind of great side-scroller multiplayer gameplay you might find in Soldat. Lots of images after the link.

These TIGSource competitions are always awesome. [via Shacknews]

WHO TOUCH SANDVICH?

More excellent filmmaking from Valve.
See you in the game; I’m going to enjoy sniping you suckers.

Clicky for the big version. Sorry, it shortened some of the file names and I’m in a hurry to post so I can’t fix it.

• Removed Soldier’s 40% damage reduction from his own rockets. Does not affect rocket jumps

Thank you Jesus. I look forward to a rash of self-destroying soldiers.

Also, in case you haven’t tried this excellent game, you can download it for free this weekend (starts Friday) and play as much as you want. I highly recommend it – it looks great on low-end hardware but it’s a good workout for a nice rig as well.

Don’t worry about being new to the game, there will be a surplus of medics healing up everyone they see, trying to get the new achievements. Now’s a great time to start.