Yesterday, social media users and fans of the beloved team-based first-person-shooter Team Fortress 2 were given a mild jumpscare when a graphic announcing that the game's servers would shut down on October 10th, 2023, began going viral on Twitter.

The post was shared by Twitter user @EverythingOOC, a gimmick account mostly devoted to sharing memes, not misinformation. However, as their tweet spread, multiple users pointed out that the tweet was factually inaccurate, as Valve had not made such an announcement. In fact, the latest update on the Team Fortress website is a news post hyping up an Australian tournament.

Team Fortress 2 did shut down its PlayStation 3 servers in March this year after being live for 15 years, but it seems that event is unrelated to the current rumor.

For some reason, the web browser Opera GX joined in spreading the false rumor, tweeting a doctored screenshot making it look like Valve itself was shutting down Team Fortress 2.

It's unclear why some have begun spreading a hoax claiming TF2 will imminently shut down. The game is still very popular both as a game and as a meme, which is impressive considering how long it's been out.

Ironically, the day after EverythingOOC posted the false graphic, the account quote-tweeted a person, claiming they got "clapped by the community notes." Currently, a Community Notes fact-check is under their viral Team Fortress 2 shutdown post, noting that it is misinformation.