Team Fortress 2's UFO-Themed Invasion Event Has Begun

Following up on the UFOs that began appearing in-game last month, Valve has released the Invasion update for Team Fortress 2.

The contents of this update are entirely community-made, as Valve said this year's Halloween event would be. That includes the excellent short film above, which sees UFOs begin to invade as the game's characters watch a 3D movie (save for the Pyro and the poor, one-eyed Demoman).

Four new maps have been added, one of which is a UFO-ified version of 2Fort. There are also new cosmetics, including a lightsaber-esque bat, that can be unlocked through new Invasion cases, though you'll need to purchase a special key in order to open a case.

Getting those cases also first requires you spend some money by purchasing the $2 Invasion Community Update Pass. This entitles you to an Invasion Community Update Coin, which tracks your stats during the event and allows you to earn Invasion case drops through the end of the year. All proceeds from purchases of the Update Pass go to the community members responsible for the update.

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All of this now available in-game. The Update Pass will remain on sale for the duration of the event, set to run from now through November 5. You can check out some of the cosmetic items (and a chestburster-style emote) on TF2's website.