You know what that means: Gifting a sub with Prime is about to go away and so are all the loot drops with Prime. Also, more no opt out ads, longer preroll ads, and a larger list of partnered games getting headway.
If I had to guess a real reason why: a new TF game in Source 2, or something similar is in the works at Valve. It may never make it out of pre-production, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
It would surprise me if they did it to capitalize on Overwatch, which would show that Valve leadership can’t make an original idea, and is chasing an also-ran that’s not successful.
I feel like this is really a consequence of what many called the “bad deal” the SAG/AFTRA merger was years ago. When the union can effectively exclude you from the bargaining process and arbitrate you to it, what’s the point? They’re behaving like a cartel, and not like a union. This is not praxis, brothers and sisters!