New update – with some surprises?

Recently, Valve has released a new update for Team Fortress 2:

Game Changes

Reworked the character loadout screens to support future features

Added the ability for players to permanently delete items from their inventory using the new Backpack menu. This does not reset achievements. Once an item has been deleted it can never be re-earned

Added the ability for players to reset their player stats using the Reset Stats button on the Stats menu. This does not reset achievements

Added a “player_teleported” game event that is sent when a player is teleported

Updated cp_junction_final to score per-capture instead of per-round. This fixes the map not working correctly with Tournament mode and the stopwatch

Scouts now drop the flag if they’re carrying it when they start phasing

Fixes

Fixed instances where Steam connection problems would cause some unlocked items to be unusable

Fixed the custom crosshair menu not clearing itself when “None” is selected for non-English clients

Fixed warning about not being able to execute skill1.cfg when starting the dedicated server

However, there are a few things that have been left out. Even though it does say “Reworked the character loadout screens to support future features” it didn’t mention that there was a new “head” feature and other interesting updates that have been found in the games data files.

While the official Valve change log rather mundanely notes that the Team Fortress 2 team has “reworked the character loadout screens to support future features,” it doesn’t specify what the pictured “head” slot is for. Fortunately, some of the game’s data files may give us a very clear picture about what we’ll see on each class’ noggins. They may also lay out the future of TF2 class changes.

Each class appears to be receiving new headgear, which may or may not have an impact on gameplay. The Heavy looks like he’s getting a football helmet, with the Demoman getting a ‘Fro, as they call it. The Engineer’s getting a mining helmet, and the Scout’s getting a batter’s helmet.

The whole investigative article can be found here, with even more intriguing news on what there might be to come (including possible grenades and customisable weapons).

Sources: Kotaku