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It seems whenever you talk to somebody about TF2 who doesn't play it, they seem to think it's dead or not that many people play it. While it gathers nowhere near the numbers other f2p games like Fortnite or Apex get, it still has a dedicated playerbase (and seems to have kept roughly the same amount of players since it became f2p [judging by steam charts.]) I usually get into a game (set on any map/mode) within a few seconds.The only reason I can seem to get why they think it's dead is it's old age or the lack of updates.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

I have a similar experience when it comes to discussing TF2. When It comes to some of the game forums I go to, a lot of people like to assume the game is dead or not being worked on at all. Some were even surprised that a large number of players were still playing it.

it's definitely not dead, but it's a shadow of its former self
updates are getting scarcer by the year, Valve isn't in the mood to get more developers on the TF team, matchmaking is dubiously useful right now, and the game is bloated with cosmetics that make the game run badly in a lot of machines despite being a 10+ year old source game, and source games are known for being easy to run.
I gotta give my props to the community though, whether you think they're all true fans, furries, or people who gave in to the sunken cost fallacy, they kept this game relevant for over a decade when it could have faded away years ago. I hope TF2 goes down as a grandfathering legend among future games, because the game is still enjoyable, very fun and is relatively balanced despite all these problems

The thing about TF2 is that while it's not exactly dying, it's not really growing either.

Updates trickle out and usually consist of a map that people play for like a week, and items that have some considerable balance issues or exploits. The metal economy is a shadow of its former self, and the matchmaking update all but killed most community servers. Several prominent people in the community jumped ship to play Overwatch (though that's not doing as well anymore either) in addition.

I personally kind of got burnt out since I played since launch but I sometimes play from time to time.

Happens with every game. The "People still playing pokemon go?" people are obnoxious.
If its not at peak popularity, then its dead.

I'd say it's because of TF2's infrequent updates, which gives the illusion it's "dead" even if the playerbase is stable. The last big one, according to them, was back in October. And, tbh, I'd really struggle to call adding some fan maps and a ton of microtransaction items a "major update." Really, you have to go back to October of 2017 for the last big update to the game.

I'd say I have some similar experiences to what you describe, and share equally similar ideas from those who have already posted, but I used to be in the same pool of "TF2 is dead" groups. Here's my retrospective on the matter:

As the years pressed on, I eventually came to think TF2 was experiencing a gradual death. The constant stagnation of consistent updates adding new content into the game led me to assume that it was a clear indication that new games were winning the "battle" against TF2, alongside this idea that gamers were moving on to those games and leaving TF2 into the dust (which I believe was merely an influence of many of my friends moving onto other games and giving me a feeling of alienation). In addition, it probably did not help that I had begun to experience a pretty serious burnout from playing essentially the same game for multiple hours a day for roughly 4 years.

Thus with all these elements combined at once, I retired the game in order to experience newer titles. However, it was thanks to TF2's 10th anniversary and the subsequent Jungle Update that a wave of nostalgia rekindled a new flame for playing it, and through this gameplay I realized the facts; Many of the dedicated players were still there, the fanbase encircling it was still producing excellent content, and new players are still coming from time to time. The game was never dead, but my perception between all of the underlying conditions led me to believe this.

The main point is, no matter how slowly these updates for the game get churned out, TF2 will continue to have a burning torch, so long as there are players in the game, and so long as there is a fandom to keep it propped up. Sure, it's not as big as it perhaps was in the late 2000's and early 2010's, but all that really matters is if the concurrent players are having fun.

All they need to do is give the game more updates and it will be fine.

There’s a lot of Threads on the Steam community Forums for TF2 saying how the game is dead. Most are bait threads while others are people complaining about a game mechanic that keeps getting them killed. Really TF2 from an outsiders perspective is dead in the water with the infrequent updates and Valves apathetic look to it. From an insiders perspective the game is very much still alive and well with community members making custom events for game modes Valve refuses to update. Just receny there was the Canteen Crashers event for MvM.

Yeah I like how valve adds official items for community events. The game is extremely active for a game that gets like 1 major update (if you don't count the holidays as "major") every year and a half.

Titanfall 2 will never die in the hearts of true fans and og players!

At least it's DLC is free. Respawn Forever!

Team Fortress 2 not Titanfall 2