Team Fortress 2 Summer Update goes viral as Valve adds iconic MF DOOM reference

Team Fortress 2’s Summer Update has gone viral after Valve added a reference to hip hop’s very own mad villain, MF DOOM.

Over the past few months, TF2 has been going through a rough patch as the game made headlines throughout 2024 for all the wrong reasons. Frustrated fans even started up a petition to “save TF2” and review-bombed the iconic hero shooter.

However, as TF2 marched towards its annual Summer Update, players received good news after hearing that the fan-favorite comic was finally being worked on after seven years of inactivity.

Now that the Summer Update is here – bringing along 10 new maps and tons of cosmetics – fans have immediately noticed that a certain new hat references the internet’s favorite rap villain.

Created by ‘DJ L3G3ND’, ‘pidialski’, and ‘warcourse’, the Vaudeville Visor was added to the Summer Update as part of the Summer 2024 Cosmetic Case.

It should be obvious to any rap aficionado that the name itself is a reference to the album Vaudeville Villain, an album MF DOOM made under his alter ego Viktor Vaughn.

Additionally, in its Steam Workshop post, the thumbnail is an obvious reference to MF DOOM’s legendary collaboration album with Madlib, Madvillainy.

Technically, the hat – or shall we say helmet – is a direct reference to the film Gladiator, as the headpiece of the helmet, with its spikes and mohawk, was originally from the movie.

However, for those not in the know, DOOM’s mask was originally a modified version of the film’s helmet, taking the face piece and using it as a mask.

One of the best parts of this unexpected reference is that one of the most popular TF2 from the past year is of an old pro montage with questionable MC-ing being overlayed with an MF DOOM instrumental.