In a popularity drive pushed up by nostalgia and the removal of a price tag, Half-Life’s player count sits higher than ever before (on record). In the last 24 hours, a peak concurrent player count of 33,467 users was recorded on Steam – which is the highest it has been by far since records started back in 2008. That’s thanks to a recent free-to-play period that went hand-in-hand with an update released to celebrate the game’s 25th anniversary.
25 Years Strong
Half-Life is a hugely influential game and is often considered one of the forefather titles of the modern industry. It was a spearhead; a pioneering game in the space headed up by some of the most recognisable figures in gaming today, namely Gabe Newell, the President of Valve.
To pay tribute to the game on its 25th anniversary, Valve released a monster update for the title. This included Steam Deck verification, tweaked graphics, additional settings, and for the first time in two decades, new multiplayer maps. Not only that but Valve also released a sizeable documentary talking about the history of Half-Life, during which Gabe Newell took the time to drop home truths about game delays.
That’s why, at the time of writing, Half-Life was more popular than ever before. It has staying power, but only for a small community – typically, the game floats around 400 average players every month, which after 25 years is just phenomenal, and so few games will ever boast those numbers.
Did you play Half-Life during the free play period?
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