Half-Life 2 celebrated its 20th anniversary with a bumper update which inspired a massive uptick in players.
Originally released in 2004, Half-Life 2 is a first-person shooter where every action inspires the story in some way. Players control Gordon Freeman, who is on a resistance mission to liberate Earth from the Combine alien empire. The game went on to sell millions of copies, won numerous “Game Of The Year” awards and is still considered one of the greatest PC titles of all time.
Half-Life 2 was released 20 years ago today pic.twitter.com/FbsfEsQAUs
— Video Game History (@VideoGameHstry) November 16, 2024
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, developers made the game free to download on Steam this weekend (November 16) and added a number of new features. There’s a new audio commentary feature from the original team and an in-depth documentary that’s about “a lot more” than just the making of a game. “Running out of money. Getting hacked, and an early version being leaked online. Being sued by our publisher. Trying to build Steam. It’s all in there!”
Expansions Episode One and Episode Two have also been bundled into Half-Life 2 and the game finally has Steam Workshop support, making it easier to use player-made mods. Developers Valve have also created a special anniversary website, featuring old presentations and BTS footage of the game’s creation.
Half-Life 2 turns 20 this weekend, and we're celebrating with a big update: New developer commentary by the original team, Steam Workshop support integrated into the game, Episodes One and Two are bundled into the main menu, and tons more: https://t.co/kOKYgzVNyJ pic.twitter.com/HE0JBip1fc
— Valve (@valvesoftware) November 15, 2024
