The tribute to voice actor Rick May in Team Fortress 2 has been made permanent

Rick May's work as a voice actor included roles in Star Fox 64, Freddi Fish 5, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, but it's his performance as the Soldier in Team Fortress 2 that made his gruff tones dear to our hearts. When May died earlier this year after contracting COVID-19 while recovering from a stroke, Valve placed a statue commemorating him in each of the game's maps for the duration of the month.

A new update for Team Fortress 2 was recently released, and beneath notes about the addition of a Summer 2020 Cosmetic Case and some patches are these words: "Updated cp_granary with a permanent Soldier statue". The statue, which is inscribed with the Soldier's line, "That was a hell of a campaign, son!" has been made a permanent fixture of the Granary map, which is fitting as that's the backdrop for the iconic Meet the Soldier video.

Let's all just watch Meet the Soldier one more time.