Valve Initially Offers Half-Life For Free But U-Turns Almost Immediately

Half-Life is widely regarded as one of the best video games of all time, and many still believe that to be the case two decades later. This 1998 sci-shooter has been named Game of the Year by over 50 publications thanks to its great action sequence and gripping narrative. It has since been a major milestone in the gaming industry and is the reason why Valve has become the juggernaut that it is today.

The game has since received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, a couple of solid sequels, and fan remakes. To that end, and If you don’t know what the fuss is all about this game, then you are welcome to try it, as it was free on Steam. We say “was”, because the deal has now since been rescinded by Valve. 

Valve has made the first Half-Life free until the 20th of November.

This is in conjunction with some movement on other Half-Life titles spotted on SteamDB.https://t.co/Zzm7GiXPo9 pic.twitter.com/SFxtjmz2ut

— Tyler McVicker (@Tyler_McV) November 16, 2023

News of this surprising sale is said to have originated on X, formerly Twitter, with the source stating that the title is receiving several updates that are appearing on SteamDB (Steam Data Base). In the very same post, it was revealed that the game is free until 20th November 2023. However, at the time of writing, it should be noted that the store page is not reflecting the promised price of RM0, and gamers are, understandably, confused, which has resulted in extensive discourse. So far, there are three main arguments that have picked up a lot of steam (pun intended).

One probable reason is that the game was allegedly made available for free by an unnamed employee without permission or by mistake, with Valve stepping in and correcting the mistake. Another reason is that the Steam server has reportedly crashed due to the sheer volume of accounts purchasing the game and the free price tag had to be removed so that the server may recover. The most interesting theory, though, lies in the rumours that the game is set to have that free price tag this coming Sunday, which neatly coincides with Steam’s 25th anniversary and its newly released Steam Deck OLED.

The reason why the third point has gained a lot of traction as of late is due to the fact that Half-Life is allegedly getting a Steam Deck update, with many people pulling information from SteamDB. Regardless of the reason, Valve has removed the “Get Half-Life” section from the store page, but the community is still hopeful that they will still receive the game for free when the time comes.

(Sources: X, DSOGaming, Game Rant, PCGamesN, Steam, SteamDB)

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