Oh, wow! Can you believe Half-Life 2 is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week? And yet, despite its age, or maybe because of it, it’s hit a new peak in concurrent players.
Let’s be honest, even if you haven’t experienced Half-Life 2 firsthand, you’ll likely agree it’s one of the all-time greats. While it’s true that it’s been around for quite some time, and it doesn’t see a massive crowd every single day, something interesting happened recently. A big update just dropped, which brought a slew of improvements, merged Episodes 1 and 2 into the main game, and even added a fresh developer commentary filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes insights. This sort of update tends to draw in a crowd, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
According to SteamDB, a nifty site that tracks a variety of game stats, Half-Life 2 has achieved a phenomenal feat by reaching an all-time high of 63,636 concurrent players—quite the palindromic number! This peak was reached literally just 12 minutes before writing this, and almost that many players are still adventuring through the game right now.
This turnout is beyond impressive for a game of its age; you’d typically expect such figures from online games, even during their lull periods. But it’s clear this update has rekindled the interest of long-time fans. It’s likely enticing some new players, too, especially since the game is currently free to download in celebration of its milestone anniversary.
Making this update even more enticing is a feature-length documentary that’s bundled along with it. If you’re a dedicated Valve enthusiast, this documentary is a must-watch. It even offers a peek into what Half-Life 2: Episode 3 might have been (although it’s wise not to take this as a sign of its eventual release).
