TF 2 barely even qualifies for the award . TF 2 still receives frequent updates that add new content , keeping people interested in the game , as well as making the game more accessible for new players . Of course the game would continue to stay popular . A true game that stands the test of time would be a game that after it ' s release got little or no more new content , yet still has a large amount of people playing several years after it ' s release . Compare TF 2 to a game like TESV Skyrim , which is a good candidate for this award . Skyrim got released in 2011 , 4 years later than TF 2 , but still 5 years ago . Quite a long time if you ask me . The game received a few patches and 2 large DLC . The first got released almost a year after release , the other half a year later . After this , the game got little to no support from the developers . It ' s the modding community that kept the game alive for 4 more years to come , until the game got remastered , which actually translates to received a graphics updateNow look at TF 2 . The game got released in 2007 , and has been frequently updated ever since . However , the TF 2 as we know it only exists since 2011 , when the game went Free to Play . From this point the game ' s popularity increased drastically as suddenly everyone became able to play it without having to spend a dollar . In the 5 years to follow TF 2 kept getting more and more updates . These updates helped keep the game interested , just like how mods kept Skyrim interesting for a lot of people . Now what would you think would have happened if Valve just abandoned TF 2 in 2012 ? Do you really think TF 2 would have survived and be as big as it is today after 4 years of not receiving any updates ? I highly doubt it . TLDR The Test of Time award should be rewarded to a game that was kept alive by the community rather than the developer . Anyone can just publish a game and keep it relevant through updates , but creating a game that stays big for years after release is truly an impressive feat .