Half-Life 2 is getting a huge 20th anniversary update

Half-Life 2 is getting a significant replace in celebration of the basic title’s Twentieth anniversary. Along with Steam Workshop help immediately inside the recreation, Valve has fastened bugs and restored some content material, added new graphics settings, up to date gamepad controls, and an entire lot extra. You’ll additionally be capable of get the sport free of charge on Steam free of charge by way of November 18th at 1PM ET. After that, it can price $9.99.

Valve can also be now together with the Episode One and Episode Two expansions with the bottom recreation. They’ll be accessible from the Half-Life 2 menu, and Valve says that “you’ll routinely advance to the following enlargement after finishing every one.” You’ll additionally be capable of entry the Steam Workshop inside the Extras menu, which suggests you’ll now not have to go away the sport to allow mods.

Valve says it additionally made huge updates to Half-Life 2’s maps, which can repair “longstanding bugs, restore content material and options misplaced to time, and enhance the standard of some issues like lightmap decision and fog.” There’s a brand new choice to play with the unique launch day blood and hearth results as properly, and Valve has up to date Half-Life 2’s gamepad controls to “match” final yr’s Half-Life 1 anniversary replace.

If you wish to entry the older model of Half-Life 2, that’s nonetheless an possibility: you’ll simply must roll again to “a publicly seen Beta department named ‘steam_legacy’” and seize the “Pre-Twentieth Anniversary Construct,” Valve says.

Like with the twenty fifth anniversary celebration for the unique Half-Life, Valve has additionally launched a free documentary about Half-Life 2 that you may watch free of charge on YouTube. Right here’s what you’ll be able to count on, based on the documentary’s YouTube description: “we’ve gotten members of the HL2 crew again to speak in regards to the recreation’s growth, how we virtually ran out of cash, what it was like after we have been hacked, what occurred after we have been sued by our writer, the birthplace of Steam, and way more.”

Along with the documentary, Valve has shared movies of outdated demos of the sport — together with one which it deliberate to deliver to E3 2022 however determined to not present on the final minute. Valve added 3.5 hours of latest developer commentary inside the recreation, too.

And the corporate is printing an expanded second version of the Elevating the Bar e book in regards to the recreation’s growth, which incorporates “the Half-Life 2 growth story, with never-before-seen idea artwork from Episode One and Episode Two, together with concepts and experiments for the third episode that by no means got here to be.” The e book will return to print in 2025.

Perhaps quickly we’ll get Half-Life 3? Perhaps?