Team Fortress 2 players using external idling applications in order to get item drops will no longer be tolerated. Valve announced today they are adopting a zero tolerance policy for these applications used to manipulate the persistent item system.

Players who have used these applications in the past (about 4.5% of the TF2 community) will earn a slap on the wrist and have items obtained “illegally” removed from their inventory. Those caught in the future will have ALL items removed.

Never leave a good deed unrewarded though, Valve is giving all the upstanding TF2 citizens new hats. There will also be an increased chance to find existing hats.

They will also be working on a system that allows items to be more easily traded and duplicates being crafted into desired items.