TF2 is kill

Team Fortress 2, as we all know, hasn't been getting the same amount of love at Dota 2 and CS:GO, not just from Valve, but also from users. This is the result of a problem that's fundamentally rooted in the format of TF2, and while it doesn't obstruct gameplay, it inhibits growth of the game. Of all things, it's the fundamental 24 player server design.

At its core, TF2 is a team-based game. Every class has benefits and drawbacks. Classes are weak to others, and it's this balance that keeps the game in check. Part of the problem with TF2 being balanced around 9 classes is that it makes competitive really difficult to manage. Highlander is the most accessable format for a player who did nothing but pub all the time, but for a potential team sponsor HL is a nightmare. Every popular eSport has teams of 5 or even less, and player roles are typically interchangable to a degree. In HL, every player is basically tied to one class forever. Sponsoring a team for TF2's Highlander competitive format would be almost twice as expensive as sponsoring a CS:GO team. This isn't even getting into the dynamics of finding substitute players, which is made a lot more difficult by this format.

6v6 isn't much better either. While it is much more reasonable from a managment standpoint, there's a massive divide between the casual and competitive playerbase. The majority of weapons are banned in 6v6, and a lot of casual players enjoy using gimmicky (and of course, straight up overpowered) unlocks and playstyles. 6v6 bans most of these weapons for reasons between slowing down gameplay, forcing a class switch, or any other reason from a wide variety. While this is very beneficial for the format, it makes 6v6 as a format seem a lot more ominous for a newcoming player, and it isolates them from the competitive scene. Additionally, while 6v6 helps alleviate the pressure of players being locked into the class they main, this does not completely remove the loom (the exception is at the ludicrously high end of TF2, Froyotech, which is basically the only team that plays this game like a career, hence why they can pull off "maining" multiple classes in 6v6).

>Why is competitive so important for the growth of TF2? If it's a fun game shouldn't it grow in its own?

Yes and no, TF2 being "fun" is what is keeping the game alive. If you haven't noticed Valve has actually been pulling a lot of strings to keep the playerbase of the game from decaying since the Uber Update (you know, that F2P thing that made a lot of new and inexperienced players join? Ever wonder why Valve servers never seem to get better over time despite the F2P update launching years ago? You don't have much reason to play after 1000 hours) Competitive is essentially a massive advertisment for your game. I'd bet everyone reading this know at least the basics of Dota 2, and about Dota's "International", but how many of you guys even know when ESEA LAN finals for TF2 were? Competitive gaming inherintly spreads the word about the game that is being played. Team Fortress 2 isn't growing because the game is fundamentally incompatable with commercialized competition. The game can still be played at its core (for fun, obviously), but it is highly unlikely that TF2 will see much growth in the future, unless Valve can pull a miracle with their competitive matchmaking format.