Half-Life 2 is getting a Big Player Count Spike on Steam

Half-Life 2 has seen a huge increase in the number of players on Steam, 20 years to the day since its first release. The players are coming back Half-Life 2 after two decades of rethinking everything that made Valve's shooter special.

Half-Life 2 is one of the most iconic video games of all time. Iteration according to the formula established in the original Half-lifethis 2004 sequel made innovative advances in game design. The use of the Havok physics engine for the puzzles was brilliant, and the lack of cutscenes, instead keeping the player in the shoes of silent protagonist Gordon Freeman throughout, made the world feel more alive than anything else at the time. These days, it suffers from what almost all the best video games have ever experienced – other titles keep innovating their best ideas, and some elements can feel ordinary in comparison. upon release, Half-Life 2 it was anything but ordinary and is still great to play today.

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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 rising. This is the highest it has 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 of all time at launch is unknown. Still, that's some feat, with the previous known peak being 16,101 in August 2021.

Half-Life 2 player count grows on 20th anniversary

Fittingly, the players have flocked back Half-Life 2 for its 20th anniversary. Valve made Half-Life 2 free to keep for a limited time, along with the release of a massive update that merges the base game with Episodes 1 and 2. This comes along with Steam Workshop support and added in-game commentary from the game's developers. That's not to mention the two-hour documentary that was released looking back at the game and its impact. It was a great season of celebration Half-Life 2a game that more than deserves its bloom two decades later.

There is still speculation about the potential Half-life 3 becomes a reality. Valve is notoriously tight-lipped about anything related to the number three, but there remains hope that it will revisit its most iconic franchise. Exclusive to VR 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, some leaks suggested that this could be a project in development Half-life 3. While nothing is guaranteed until Valve says something official, it's good to have dreams.

1998. HALF-LIFE shocks the gaming industry with its combination of thrilling action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Valve's debut title wins more than 50 Game of the Year awards on its way to PC Gamer's “Best PC Game of All Time” title, launching a franchise with more than eight million retail units sold worldwide.

NOW. By taking the tension, challenge and visceral charge of the original and adding surprising new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around them, from the physical environment to behavior, even emotions. friends and enemies.

The player once again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien infested Earth that is being drained to the bone, its resources depleted and its population dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of saving the world from the evil he unleashed back in Black Mesa. And a lot of people he cares about are counting on him.

Franchise

Half-life

Released

November 16, 2004

Engine

source, hawk

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

How long to beat

13 hours

Extend