Can you believe it? It's been exactly 10 years since The Orange Box was released, and along with it Team Fortress 2. It was a huge moment for gaming, signaling the genesis of a new era of online competition and trash talking.

Also Read: Team Fortress 2 - Then vs Now

Let's travel back through history to remember this release.

October 2007, The Beginning

Team Fortress 2 came bundled inside Orange Box, a Valve made product that also contained Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and other goodies.

The game followed the same formula as the original Team Fortress Classic, which was one of the most popular Half-Life mods in 1999.

Sold at $49.99, the package was a huge value proposition for gamers. Sold across PC and Xbox 360, and just two months later PS3, it caught on in the mainstream earning the full-time attention of millions of gamers.

The Characters

Team Fortress 2 was most known for its cast of nine playable characters. Each had its own distinct personality, and also its own memes.

The Demoman

Everyone loves a good explosion, and the Demoman knew how to make fireworks happen better than anyone. Naturally, he was the cool guy among his peers.

The Engineer

This well educated construction worker could fix machinery by smashing it repeatedly with a wrench. While that might sound like a fun skill, having to deal with people blowing up your sentries within moments of you building them isn't for the faint of heart.

The Heavy

If there's a sandwich in the room, you can bet the Heavy will find and devour it in no time. His massive frame might have resulted in a catastrophically high BMI, but he's also the perfect stature for leading the charge against an enemy team.

The Medic

The glorious medic; savior of mankind, responsible for every game loss. Everyone loved him, but nobody wanted to play as him.

The Pyro

The Pyro liked to watch things burn His full body suit prevented anyone from seeing his (or her) real identity, so there's always been a bit of mystery in the air with this character.

The Scout

While not the brightest bulb in the shed, the Scout was extremely agile and considered the most difficult character to master.

The Soldier

A lot of newer players tended to play the Soldier, so, of course, he was known for being the noob character. Truth is that the Soldier was challenging to play well, and core component of a good team.

The Sniper

As the only character capable of throwing piss on opponents, The Sniper was obviously the coolest character. It only helps that he's an Australian that carries around  a big knife for dealing with "vermin".

The Spy

The Spy loves his cigarettes. He was also the reason for one of the game's most popular memes, 'Gentlemen'.

Meet the Team

Immediately following Team Fortress 2's release, Valve began releasing videos for each character in the game. These were intended to showcase the cast and bring the game to life.

The Heavy was the first to get a video, and it wouldn't be until five years later that the series would conclude with the Pyro.

Meet the Heavy - Released May 14, 2007

Meet the Soldier - Released August 22, 2007

Meet the Engineer - Released September 11, 2007

Meet the Demoman -  Released October 9, 2007

Meet the Scout - Released April 19, 2008

Meet the Sniper - Released June 7, 2008

Meet the Sandvich - Released August 19, 2008

Meet the Spy - Released May 19, 2009

Meet the Medic - Released June 23, 2011

Meet the Pyro - Released June 27, 2012

Nope

In 2010 a short video appeared that showed the Engineer simply saying one word: nope. It would become one of the first viral memes for the game, called upon on message boards in-place of saying "no". In other words, it was used a lot.

Hats. So Many Hats.

In May 2009 Valve added cosmetic items to the game. At first it didn't seem like a big deal, but it would forever change the course of history for the game.

Collecting hats would become an addiction for many players, and as more were added over the years the game would see increased popularity. The design of the hats system would become a template for many other games to follow, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Free-To-Play

In 2011 Team Fortress 2 transitioned to free-to-play after years of being sold for $20 or more. This not only made the game more accessible to people who may not be interested in paying for a game, but brought back a lot of players who had quit.

Its new free-to-play model was considered pro-consumer and has set the bar by which other free-to-play games are judged.

Team Fabulous 2

In 2012 a fan-made story video would be released that would go on to become one of the most popular videos in the game's history with over 21 million views. It was called Team Fabulous 2, and it stands as the most popular unofficial Team Fortress video in history.

Memes For Days

October 2017

10 years later Team Fortress 2 has been played by more than 40 million people worldwide. It's credited for inspiring Overwatch among other character-based shooters, and laying the groundwork for modern free-to-play systems.