One of the interesting side effects of shipping free updates for Team Fortress 2 over the years has been a large and devoted group of people who write us asking if they can simply buy game items directly. We also get regular feedback from the bean counters on our fourth floor, who -- after watching with tooth-grinding irritation as we shipped over 120 free updates to a three-year-old game -- gently suggested that we "make some f$*&ing money already."

Then it hit us: it'd make everybody happy if we really DID let players buy items directly. Players'd be happy because we actually listened to them for once, and the bean counters would be happy because in-game stores are the future of everything, including making some f$*&ing money already.

Flash forward a few months, and we're proud to introduce the in-game Mann Co. Store. And, because we'd hate to satisfy the bean counters completely, we've decided community item contributors will get paid based on the sales of their items. So you can make some f$*&ing money already too.

Now, I'm sure you have dozens of questions, so just this once we put together a nifty F.A.Q. Of course the best way to find out more is to fire up the game yourself and check out the new Mann Co. Store for yourselves!