Team Fortress 2 to punish players who abandon 'Mann vs. Machine' co-op games

No one likes a quitter, especially Valve, which is cracking down on Team Fortress 2 players who repeatedly bail on the game's cooperative Mann vs. Machine mode mid-match, the company said on its Team Fortress blog today.

Through its fictional spokesman, Mann Co. owner Saxton Hale, Valve said it will penalize "cowards" who run away from the front lines on official Mann vs. Machine servers while playing "Mann Up" mode. Tickets purchased through Team Fortress 2's in-game store are required to play in "Mann Up" matches, which feature exclusive loot drops.

Players who leave "Mann Up" games will be considered to have abandoned their game if they have not played through a single wave, either to completion or failure, and if five or more players are currently connected to the server. Valve says the game will warn players who leave games via the "disconnect" button if they're in danger of being flagged as abandoning their match.

The developer addresses questions about being kicked from Mann vs. Machine matches by idling and vote-kicking in its updated FAQ.

Valve says it will penalize repeat offenders by temporarily placing them in a low-priority pool that will experience longer matchmaking times. The developer instituted similar measures in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive recently, punishing players who abandon Classic Competitive games.