Team Fortress 2 is known for its cast of bizarre, hammy characters, all fighting each other for the sake of… something. The Soldier is one such character, having the personality of a brash, somewhat insane, and incompetent drill sergeant. The rocket slinging character established himself in the second of the “Meet the [Character]” videos. It consisted of voice actor Rick May hollering about Sun Tzu while his character commits pointless carnage. The recent death of Rick May has left a mournful community, with Valve updating Team Fortress 2 to give a tribute in its own way.

Rick May died in April of Covid-19, as reported by Rekindle School, a Seattle arts college he taught at. He had suffered a stroke in February and unfortunately caught the current strain of Coronavirus during recovery. May was a voice actor, theatrical actor, and director. Within the field of video games besides his iconic role as the Soldier, May was also known for being the voice of Peppy in StarFox 64 and Genghis Khan in Age of Empires II.

There was an outpouring of tributes from TF2 fans shortly after his death was announced, and now, Valve’s officially honoring him too. At the start of May, Valve added a bunch of stuff to honor Rick, which will be around for the duration of the rest the month.

The menu screen now focuses on a saluting Soldier, with a rendition of Taps playing as the background music. Furthermore, many of the official levels now have statues of the Soldier with plaques dedicated to Rick May underneath. Being near a statue also triggers a Soldier voice line, giving Rick May one last echo into the world.

We live in turbulent times, where someone you may know could get infected by the raging pandemic. Rick May was a voice actor whose performance and presence captured the minds of many, and it’s terrible to see him go.

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