Hammer.tf has announced its first Art Pass Contest for Team Fortress 2. Participants must create an art pass for an existing KOTH map supplied by a community member, then submit their work on the Hammer.tf Discord server before November 26. The announcement was published on September 21, 2026, through the official Steam news page. It does not confirm that Valve or the official Team Fortress 2 team directly organized the contest.
the official announcement published on SteamNo theme is imposed. Hammer.tf gives participants total creative control over the map’s visual direction, so the contest focuses on how each creator interprets the same gameplay foundation rather than following a shared artistic brief.
An existing KOTH map provides the starting point
The Steam announcement does not identify the map or the community member who provided it. It does state that the map’s VMF and BSP files will be available through the Hammer.tf Discord server, alongside the details, rules and participation instructions.
That makes the Discord server the practical starting point for anyone interested: it is where participants are expected to obtain the resources and where eligible submissions must be posted. The published announcement does not provide a direct download link outside that server.
November 26 is the submission deadline
All entries must be submitted on the Hammer.tf Discord server before November 26. The Steam text does not specify the year, time or time zone attached to the deadline, so those details should be checked in the server’s contest information before submitting.
The announced prize pool is “60+ Keys”, divided among three winners. The announcement does not state the monetary value of the keys, how the prize will be split or when the winners will be announced. It also leaves the judging criteria unspecified, making the Discord rules especially important for creators preparing an entry.
What remains to be clarified
The Steam announcement confirms the contest format, the submission channel and the broad prize pool, but it does not name the selected KOTH map, the member who supplied it, the judging criteria or the date when winners will be announced. It also does not specify the year, time or time zone for the November 26 deadline. The post directs readers to the Hammer.tf Discord for further details, rules and participation instructions.
For now, the contest offers a clearly defined constraint—a community-provided KOTH map—and broad freedom over its visual treatment. Anyone planning to participate should retrieve the files and rules from the Hammer.tf Discord server, then confirm the deadline details before submitting.
