Half-Life 2 gets a large number of players on Steam

Half-life 2 received a huge boost in player numbers on Steam, 20 years to the day after its initial release. Players are returning to Half-life 2 after two decades, revisiting everything that made Valve's shooter special.

Half-life 2 is one of the most iconic video games ever made. Iterating over the formula established in the original Half lifethis 2004 sequel made great strides in game design. The use of the Havok physics engine for the puzzles was a stroke of genius, and the lack of cutscenes, instead keeping the player as silent protagonist Gordon Freeman at all times, made the world feel more alive than anything else in that moment. Nowadays, it suffers from what almost every best video game ever has experienced: other titles further innovate its best ideas and can make some elements seem ordinary by comparison. Upon release, Half-life 2 was anything but ordinary, and remains a fun to play to this day.

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A generation later, Half-Life 2's approach to first-person shooter design proves that it was well ahead of the curve in one important respect.

According to SteamDB, Half-life 2 surpassed 50,000 concurrent players for the first time ever. At the time of writing, the exact peak is 52,027 and still rising. This is the highest peak it's ever reached since records began in 2008, and SteamDB acknowledged in a tweet that the number of people who played one of the best FPS games ever at launch is unknown. Still, that's quite a feat, given that the previous known peak was 16,101 in August 2021.

Half-Life 2 player count increases on 20th anniversary

It's right that the players have returned en masse Half-life 2 on its 20th anniversary. Valve did it Half-life 2 free for a limited time, in addition to the release of a huge update that combines the base game with Episodes 1 AND 2. This comes alongside Steam Workshop support and the addition of in-game commentary from the game's developers. Not to mention the two-hour documentary that was released looking back at the game and its impact. It was a great time of celebration Half-life 2a game that more than deserves its flowers two decades later.

Speculation still rages today about the potential of Half-life 3 becoming a reality. Valve is notoriously tight-lipped about everything related to issue three, but the hope remains that it will revisit its most iconic franchise once again. The VR exclusive of 2020 Half-life: Alyx it showed two things: Valve still cared about the franchise and had the talent to do it justice. Earlier this year, leaks hinted at a project in development that might be Half-life 3. While nothing is guaranteed until Valve says something official, it's nice to have dreams.

1998. HALF-LIFE disrupts the video game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, engaging narrative. Valve's debut title wins more than 50 Game of the Year awards, is named “Best PC Game Ever” by PC Gamer, and launches a franchise with more than eight million units sold worldwide.

NOW. Taking the suspense, challenge, and visceral drive of the original and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence influences everything around them, from the physical environment to behaviors up to emotions. of both friends and enemies.

The player once again takes up the crowbar of researcher Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth and reduced to the bone, with its resources depleted and its population dwindling. Freeman is forced into the unenviable role of saving the world from the evil he unleashed on Black Mesa. And many people dear to him are counting on him.

Franchising

Half life

Released

November 16, 2004

Motor

source, havoc

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and gore, intense violence

How long to beat

13 hours

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