Sign up now for the Team Fortress 2 Competitive beta

Team Fortress 2 is finally embracing ranked play.

TF2 fans interested in the long-rumoured, long-awaited Competitive update can now put their hands up to participate in testing.

Valve has opened a Steam Community Group dedicated to beta testing the update, announcing on Reddit that it will use the group both to make announcements and send beta invites.

Competitive matchmaking for Team Fortress 2 was pretty well outed back in April 2015 when fans visited Valve HQ, and the seeds of future features were discovered in an update not long after.

I think this is the first time the feature has been officially and openly discussed, though. The surprise announcement has left fans hopeful that the Team Fortress 2 development team will become a little more responsive and communicative.