The first product of the JJ Abrams/Valve partnership announced back in 2013 has now come to light.
It's not a movie or TV show, but rather, the "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" director's Bad Robot studio designed a brand-new mode for Team Fortress 2 called "Pass Time." The mode, co-developed by Escalation Studios, is available now for the free-to-play shooter.
"Pass Time combines TF2's usual fast-paced bloodsport with the actual fast-paced sports of soccer, hockey, and basketball," Valve said about the mode in a blog post.
Bad Robot stresses that Pass Time is very much a work in progress. Player feedback about this mode will be "critical" to its development, and players are encouraged to send their thoughts about it to this email address: passtime@valvesoftware.com
Pass Time matches pit the Red and Blu teams against each other, as each side tries to score more goals than their opponent. One player carries the "jack," a ball that, when picked up, replaces your guns. As such, teammates will need to protect the carrier.
The other side, meanwhile, can steal the jack by performing a melee attack on the carrier. The carrier does have some super-abilities, however, including regenerating health, temporary invincibility, speed boosts, and the ability to see both teammates and opponents on the map at the same time.
For a closer look at Pass Time, take a look at the gameplay video below from the fan-run Valve News Network.
Abrams is currently directing "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens," which comes to theaters in December. It is unclear how much involvement Abrams had with the new Team Fortress 2 mode.
As part of the Bad Robot/Valve partnership announced in 2013, Abrams also said he and Valve were brainstorming ideas for Portal and Half-Life movies. It's unclear, however, how much progress is being made on these feature films.