Free Half-Life anniversary game giveaway leaves fans furious
As the original Half-Life approaches its 25th anniversary, Stream gave away a free copy of the game but quickly pulled it because it got its date wrong.
17th Nov 2023 15:00
Images via Valve
Free Half-Life anniversary game giveaway leaves fans furious
As the original Half-Life approaches its 25th anniversary, Stream gave away a free copy of the game but quickly pulled it because it got its date wrong.
17th Nov 2023 15:00
Images via Valve
We're hanging up the birthday bunting in the Black Mesa, as we prepare to celebrate the milestone 25th anniversary of Half-Life. Valve's beloved first-person shooter is rightly held as one of the best video games of all time, and over the years, Half-Life has influenced everything from Counter-Strike to Halo.
Half-Life has an enduring legacy that spun into its 2004 sequel, the episodic Half-Life 2 expansions, and the divisive VR experiment of Half-Life: Alyx. As those continued rumours of Half-Life 3 fail to turn into anything substantial, we're left looking back instead of forward.
Steam screws up Half-Life giveaway
To celebrate 25 years of Half-Life, Steam gave fans a special treat - delivering the 1998 shooter for absolutely nothing. There were rumbles that something was on the way, with SteamDB noting changes behind the scenes of the OG.
Half-Life was supposed to be free until November 20, but sadly, the free giveaway was quickly pulled. Apparently, Half-Life was free for just an hour before Stream yanked it from the store. At the time of writing, it's unclear whether the free Half-Life giveaway is coming back or it was a complete mistake.
No one is really sure what's going on, with some thinking a Steam employee accidentally set the deal live early, the platform crashed due to overwhelming demand, or that it's being saved for the game's actual 25th anniversary on November 19.
Half-Life fans are furious
We love a free game, and with Half-Life's legacy in the gaming world, you can imagine we were keen to nab it for nothing. With so much confusion, both Steam and Valve are in the firing line, with an increasing number of players demanding their free title.
While musing about what's gone wrong, one critic said, "I have no idea.. all I know is I WANT MY FREE HALF LIFE!" Another added, "Bro wtf they really just tickled our tips and ran away," while a third said, "It was a mistake and some valve employee is bouta get fired."
Thinking they got to the bottom of it, some think Steam got its dates mixed up because the free Half-Life giveaway went live on the date of Half-Life 2's 19th anniversary. Still, we're no closer to knowing whether Half-Life free is about to go free on November 19 or we're just being trolled (again) by Valve.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
