TF2 Scream Fortress XVIII Is Live — 5 New Maps, The Haunted Hoard Case, 21 Unusual Effects & A Huge Zombie Infection Overhaul

Scream Fortress XVIII has arrived in Team Fortress 2 as part of the October 1, 2026 update, and it's a large one even by Halloween standards. Five new community maps, a new case with 23 community cosmetics, five new taunts, 21 new Unusual effects — and underneath the event, a major overhaul of the Zombie Infection map set with new abilities for four zombie classes.

🎃 The Event — Scream Fortress XVIII

• Five new community maps: HolyHell, Scarypass, Trainsawlaser, Medi-Evil and Scaredy-Cat.
• The Haunted Hoard Case — containing 23 new community-created cosmetic items that make up the Haunted Hoard Collection, with a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item.
• Five new community-contributed taunts in the Mann Co. Store: Hippocratic Hypocrite, Showrunner's Spirit, Barrel Roll, One-Eyed Punt! and Sear You Later.
• 21 new community-created Unusual effects — 11 for hats and 10 for taunts.
• Everyone who launches the game gets a Soul Gargoyle if they don't already have one. It grants access to Merasmissions and Halloween item transmutations, and tracks Merasmissions completed and souls collected.
• All Halloween Contracts have been reset, so they can be completed again, with new Contracts for this year's featured community maps. Completing one gives a classic Halloween item and a chance at a Haunted Hoard Case.
• Soul collection continues from last year — kill enemies, do map objectives, or grab the Soul Gargoyles that spawn on maps.
• During the event, all cosmetic and taunt Cases grant Halloween 2026 Unusual effects instead of their normal ones. This does not include Crates.
• Join Halloween matches via the Special Events category in Casual, and note the dates: Scream Fortress XVIII runs through November 7, 2026.

🔧 General Fixes & Changes

An unusually community-heavy fix list this month — Valve credited a contributor on nearly every item:

• ÜberCharge response rules now play for Halloween items (robbilookatme), and missing lighting parameters for Scottish Resistance materials were fixed (Lindon).
• Two crashes fixed: a client crash related to a missing HUDAutoAim element (flower), and a TFBot crash related to moving control points (BetaM).
• Joining a new lobby while being revived no longer locks up the camera (Vlad) — a genuinely annoying one on community servers.
• Weapon and HUD fixes: the AWPer Hand's misplaced muzzle attachment (dilbertron2), the Pomson's kill icon bleeding into the Wrap Assassin's (Grampa Swood), Spy disguising as a player without a primary weapon (leemustache), HUD item meters not always clearing or loading properly, and the crit boost material effect not working on several weapons.
• Fixed invalid Soul Gargoyle locations on Helltower (Kimmy) and a bad computer_wall02b material (DiskIntegrity).
• Added convars to control ready countdown (nemmy) — an admin-facing addition, see the server section below.
• Fixed cosmetics attached to ragdolls not cloaking with the ragdoll when killed with a weapon like Your Eternal Reward.
• Map logic: added OnDropTeam1 and OnDropTeam2 outputs for item_teamflag, and fixed Summer 2024 Cosmetic Key backpack images.

Cosmetic fixes and polish

• Beaten and Bruised — optimized model exports (smaller file size), fixed Style and Paint preview placement, improved head bandage geometry, reduced clipping with other cosmetics and normal map compression artifacts on Pyro and Engineer's cracked lenses, improved blue team texture variation, and fixed the Nightmare style's selfillum.
• Hard Hearing — same export and preview fixes, reduced clipping, fixed a gap above the brim on some classes, textures better matched to class colours, adjusted phong — and Sniper now takes his hat off when melee taunting on the "Hearing Issue" style.
• Chief Executor — added style names, fixed style preview orientation, and added the missing hat bodygroup to the third style. Style names were also added for the Standing Offer and Vested Investor's Vest.
• Standing Offer — clipping, a wrongly assigned UV and paint texture issues fixed. Vested Investor's Vest — clipping fixed.
• Handsome Ranger — UVs updated to prevent mipmapping with the paint region, and a bigger cigarette in the "Off Duty" style.
• Long Shot and Night Riders — textures updated to reduce normal map and ambient occlusion strength, with backpack icons updated to match.
• The Hundekopf paint mask fixed, The Lo-Fi Longwave logo gained a second style with the updated logo, Le Morne Uniforme LOD issues fixed, and backpack images updated for Le Sapeur and Le Morne Uniforme. Tournament medals were updated and added.

🗺️ Map Updates

• koth_sawmill_event — fixed missing materials in the underworld.
• ctf_2fort — fixed an inconsistent DX level setting for the grain_elevator01 prop (sonomahyenaz).
• cp_dustbowl — fixed a func_occluder problem in stage 3 (sonomahyenaz).
• cp_well — fixed Engineers building in RED's forward spawn room (sonomahyenaz).

pl_redwood — Zipline Fixes

• Fixed visual stuttering on players using a zipline, and a bug that broke client collision with certain entities.
• Zipline sounds are no longer interrupted when you fire your weapon, and some cases where ziplines took players in the wrong direction were fixed.
• The Mantreads and The Thermal Thruster now deal damage when landing on players after dismounting a zipline.
• Dismounting a zipline while wielding The Winger now boosts jump height by 25%, and speed gained from dismounting shortly after a shield charge was reduced.
• Dismount input was adjusted to prevent accidental early dismounts.

pd_mannsylvania

• Vampire Buff duration reduced from 20 to 15 seconds, and players exiting Dracula's Castle get a 5-second speed boost plus new voice lines.
• The map now precaches audio on load, fixing a major stutter when entering Dracula's Castle for the first time (thanks Aar!).
• Fixed players not being forced into melee in the ending sequence, sound scripts calling non-existent sounds, resupply cabinet textures, and some particle effects in the capture zone.
• Reduced the number of edicts by converting dynamic objects to static ones, increased active pumpkin bombs, and made lighting, visual and optimization passes.

koth_demolition

• New health and ammo pack platforms (by Goobert), a neutral control point version matching RED and BLU, and replaced textures under the water to save file size.
• Layout changes: more space between the playable area and the sea's invisible wall, less brushwork on the crane to stop players bonking on the jump pad, the jump pad moved back and made stronger, two broken catwalks added on the crane platform, a new broken catwalk behind both spawns with cover and a trimp spot, and a new shortcut on the radio towers connecting to it.
• New flank route: a set of catwalks hanging under the point platform (thanks ItJazzy for both suggestions).
• Pickups rebalanced: a small health pack in each team's furnace room with the furnace health pack upgraded medium → full and the office building's small → medium.
• Fixes: pipes fading too soon, and weird collision near spawns that messed with blast jumps. Also — the Administrator now reacts when a player dies to the Evil Deer. Try at your own risk.

🧟 The Zombie Infection Overhaul — The Biggest Part Of This Update

Six Zombie Infection maps (zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium and zi_woods) received a shared set of systemic changes plus per-map work. If you run one of these on a community server, this is effectively a game-mode patch.

General changes across all six

• Players can no longer be selected as a starting Zombie two rounds in a row.
• Dying during setup now respawns you instantly, and players who are dead or spectating when the round begins are now considered infected.
• The B.A.S.E Jumper can now be deployed at any point in the round, and jumper weapons no longer have decreased max ammo.

Zombie Spawn Picker — a new feature

• On respawn, Zombies can manually choose their spawn point. Press left and right mouse inputs to cycle through available spawns, and jump to spawn at the highlighted one.
• If you press nothing, you automatically respawn after a short time.
• Zombies can change class while picking a spawn point, and respawning Zombies are no longer ÜberCharged.

Zombie-wide changes

• Zombies now drop a small ammo pack and receive Mini-Crits while their team is below the starting infection quota.
• Updated Zombie viewmodel animations with the view punch removed when attacking, updated playermodels and third-person animations (thanks Coolchao Zhao!), and polished ability icons (thanks TheLazerSofa!).
• Respawning Zombies no longer play lightning visuals or thunder sounds, and zombies no longer leave green footsteps or emit green fog — and can now ragdoll.

Four zombie classes got new abilities

• Zombie Engineer — new "Beacon" ability. Throw a toolbox to erect a beacon that Zombies can respawn at. Beacons are the default spawn point in the new Spawn Picker, can be destroyed by Survivors, and each Engineer can only have one active at a time.
• Zombie Spy — inherits Zombie Engineer's old "EMP Grenade". It still disables buildings around the detonation and now highlights Survivors and buildings like the previous Reveal ability. It no longer instantly detonates on directly hitting a building and takes half as long to detonate. Reveal and EMP duration went 6.5s → 5.5s, reveal range 1000 → 900 HU, EMP range 500 → 450 HU. Max health is 125 and melee damage dropped to 69%.
• Zombie Pyro — new "Sticky Spew". Spew balls of tar that coat Survivors in disorienting liquid, hindering their movement-based weapons. In exchange it no longer drops a medium health kit on death, fire resistance dropped 100% → 70%, and it no longer ignites players on hit or deals bonus damage to burning Survivors.
• Zombie Heavy — new "Rock Hurl". Grab a chunk of concrete and heave it: Survivors in the radius are knocked back and damaged, those directly hit are stunned and take extra damage, and buildings hit are temporarily disabled. Also added loud footsteps, knockback resistance 100% → 85%, damage vs buildings 120 → 90, and no medium health kit on death.
• Zombie Sniper — spit can now settle on slopes, staircases and rooftops. Zombie Demoman — Explosive Charge's channel period has full aim control. Zombie Soldier — pouncing Soldiers now play a whistling falling sound.

Zombie bug fixes

• Fixed Zombies sometimes being immune to headshots — arguably the most important fix in the list.
• Zombie Sniper's Spit now creates a puddle when it hits a building, and Zombie Heavy's attack no longer damages through Bonk! Atomic Punch or ÜberCharge.
• Zombie Medic no longer leaves dispensers behind when changing class, spectating or disconnecting.
• Fixed Survivors sometimes starting with no ammo or metal, game_text entities leaking on disconnect or mid-respawn class change, and the starting Zombie quota being able to select a spectator or a dead Survivor.

Per-map changes

• zi_atoll — removed a zombie spawn beneath the cliff shack, returned the full ammo pack in the turbine room, and removed the Über effect from spawning zombies.
• zi_blazehattan — reworked lighting and visuals, reworked zombie spawns to create safer zones for Survivors, reworked the grinder building and evacuation centre, opened up rotations in the cargo crate pile, added more pickups, cleaned up collisions, fixed the Survivor respawn wave time being too long, reduced the round timer from 210s to 180s, and removed nobuild zones from crates and barrels.
• zi_devastation_final1 — Zombies can now reach the surface above the parking garage and drop onto higher floors, zombie spawns were simplified, Survivors gained access to the third-floor vents corridor, nobuild triggers were removed from third-floor cars, dark corners were brightened, and the bottom-floor water level was lowered.
• zi_murky — the Mudpuppy clearance tunnels are now open, Mudpuppy spawns moved to the docks, fewer pickups, less fog and lighter ambient lighting for visibility, quieter soundscape, collisions cleaned up, props merged for performance, water visuals updated with expensive reflections removed, and pumpkin bomb spawns adjusted.
• zi_sanitarium — removed outside ladder access to the roof (you'll take the stairs), removed the Uber effect from spawning zombies, removed access to the adjacent sloped roof and some connecting plank walkways, fixed being able to attack through window frames, fixed clipping and stuck spots around the scaffolding, shortened the Far Z clip plane for performance, and added a "Ding" when the elevator arrives.
• zi_woods — updated zombie spawn zones, reworked the boathouse roof, terraformed cliffs around the lake, added access to raised terrain platforms, added a health and ammo platform on the wooded pathway to the docks, added clipping to tall rock spires, brightened dark forest spots, made the airboat easier to jump over and into, and increased the round timer from 120s to 160s.

🖥️ What This Means For Your Server

• The event arrives with the update automatically, but community servers need to opt in. Scream Fortress matches are joined through the Special Events category in Casual — to run the Halloween experience on your own server, rotate the event maps and let the Halloween content do the rest. The event runs through November 7, so plan your rotation around that window.
• New admin convars for the ready countdown were added (community fix from nemmy). If your server runs a ready-up before rounds, review the new options instead of relying on a plugin to fake it.
• If you run any of the six zi_ maps, this is a mode rework, not a map patch. Starting-zombie fairness, setup deaths, spectators counting as infected, the B.A.S.E Jumper change and the free jumping weapons all alter balance. Then the Zombie Spawn Picker adds a per-player interaction that didn't exist before, zombies respawn without ÜberCharge, and four classes have genuinely new abilities. Expect your regulars to need a few rounds to adjust.
• The most welcome fix is the headshot immune bug. Zombies occasionally being immune to headshots undermined the entire Survivor skill ceiling — worth announcing, because players will notice it's finally fixed.
• Zombie Heavy and Zombie Spy both lost power, and Zombie Heavy's kit changed shape. Knockback resistance down to 85%, building damage down to 90, no more health kit, and Spy at 125 health with 69% melee damage. If your community has its own balance expectations for these maps, retest before assuming the old meta holds.
• Performance work landed in the places it hurts most. pd_mannsylvania precaches audio on load to remove a first-entry stutter and reduced edicts; zi_murky merged props and dropped expensive reflections; zi_sanitarium shortened its Far Z clip plane. Those are exactly the fixes that reduce server-side edict pressure and client hitching.
• New maps and cosmetics pull players back. Five new community maps plus a case of 23 cosmetics is a community-retention moment — expect a populated server and a queue. It's also the moment your FastDL setup gets tested on brand-new custom content.
• Fixes that matter for server stability: the client crash from a missing HUDAutoAim element, the TFBot crash related to moving control points, and the lobby-while-being-revived camera lockup are all things that generate support noise on a busy server.

Running a Team Fortress 2 community? NolimitHost TF2 hosting runs high-tickrate servers on dedicated resources with SourceMod and MetaMod support and automated FastDL for custom maps and assets — which is exactly what event season demands.

Conclusion

Scream Fortress XVIII is a full-fat Halloween update: five new community maps (HolyHell, Scarypass, Trainsawlaser, Medi-Evil, Scaredy-Cat), the Haunted Hoard Case with 23 community cosmetics and a chance at a taunt Unusualifier, five new taunts, 21 new Unusual effects, a Soul Gargoyle for every player, reset and new Halloween Contracts, and Halloween 2026 effects on cosmetic and taunt Cases — running through November 7, 2026. Alongside it, a community-credited general fix list, cosmetic polish across a dozen items, map work on pl_redwood, pd_mannsylvania and koth_demolition, and a systemic Zombie Infection overhaul: the new Zombie Spawn Picker, new abilities for Engineer (Beacon), Pyro (Sticky Spew) and Heavy (Rock Hurl), the EMP Grenade shifting to Spy, Mini-Crits under quota, no more lightning on respawn, and a long list of fixes led by zombies no longer being immune to headshots.

Update your server, rotate the event maps, and tell your community the headshot bug is finally dead.