Twenty years ago this month, Valve released Half-Life 2. The company is celebrating the anniversary with a 20th anniversary update that includes new content and various bug fixes. Best of all, Half-Life 2 is free right now on Steam, but only until 1 PM ET today, November 18.
One of the most exciting additions for the Half-Life 2 update is new commentary tracks (spanning 3.5 hours) for the entire game featuring the original Half-Life 2 developers discussing how they brought the game to life. Additionally, Half-Life 2 now has in-game Steam Workshop support, along with support for Steam’s new Game Recording feature. The update also fixes various issues with the 20-year-old game, including holes in the game world and disappearing objects. Players can also expect “cleaner, smoother horizon lines” and higher-resolution lightmaps across the entire game.
What’s more, players can choose original graphics settings for blood and fire effects or new ones that were released later. There is also a High Quality mode that’s been added, while the aim assist feature has ben overhauled to help it feel better.