Prepare to feel old: Half-Life turns 25 on Sunday. And to celebrate, Valve has gone all out on commemorating the milestone, including making Half-Life free to own on Steam for a limited time and releasing a big anniversary update, which includes Steam Deck verification, updated graphic settings, new multiplayer maps, and more.
In a blog post, Valve rolled out a massive 25th-anniversary update for Half-Life, with the company deeming "this anniversary version of Half-Life to be the definitive way" to experience this late '90s classic. A few highlights in the new update include Half-Life finally getting verification for Steam Deck, updating the in-game menu's design to look more like the one found in the 1998 original, and UI scaling to allow for higher resolutions.
And if you have yet to play or own Half-Life, the Steam version is free to obtain. The game was available free of charge briefly yesterday, but the promotion is back up on Steam, with users having until Nov. 20 to claim a copy for their digital library.
Beyond a big update, Valve has also published a documentary where the original development team shares their memories of the creation of Half-Life.
Half-Life turns 25 this weekend, and we're pushing a big update to bring back some of that 1998 feeling with restored original launch day content, brand new multiplayer maps, a look behind the scenes with the original development team, and more: https://t.co/ceV4oePUyP pic.twitter.com/1eOtLiHXbE
— Valve (@valvesoftware) November 17, 2023
Half-Life was released on Nov. 19, 1998, and it quickly became one of the more influential games in the first-person shooter genre and the industry as a whole. It spawned a series that consists of five games, but also influenced the creation of mods that would eventually become standalone products, including Counter-Strike, and an unofficial remake released in 2020 called Black Mesa.
Our review of Half-Life said, "[Half-Life] is a tour de force in game design, the definitive single-player game in a first-person shooter."
Check out the patch notes below for more on changes introduced in the Half-Life 25th anniversary update.