Team Fortress 2 saw the addition of a co-op mode a couple of months ago called Mann vs Machine, which sees a team of players going up against waves of angry robots while defending the base. Due to the difficulty of the mode, players often left the games prematurely, wasting the time of their teammates and hurting the experience.
The mode has since been tweaked to address the issue of leavers, with an official announcement by fictional character and Mann CEO Saxton Hale. Those who often abandon games will be subject to penalties.
Q: What happens if I "abandon" a game?
At first, nothing. (Sometimes you lose your Internet connection and cannot get back online to rejoin. And sometimes, you just have to go.) Penalties will be imposed on players who repeatedly abandon games. These players will be temporarily placed in a low-priority pool and will experience longer matchmaking times.
Full details about the new policy can be found in a newly written FAQ.
If you’re on a flaky internet connection, don’t be too worried if you disconnect unintentionally, as the game will provide you with a three minute grace period to reconnect and rejoin the game.