Every Half-Life Game is Currently Free to Play on Steam

From now until the release of Half-Life: Alyx in March 2020, every entry in the Half-Life series (and Team Fortress Classic) will be free to play on Steam. In addition to drawing attention to the new game's imminent release, this promotion also ensures that every player is fully caught up with the Half-Life story: apparently there are some PC gamers who aren't —who knew?

Alongside this offer, Valve has released a statement informing players that although Half-Life: Alyx is set before Half-Life 2, the games will "share characters and story elements". Therefore, the "best way to enjoy the new game is to play through the old ones, especially Half-Life 2 and the episodes".

Valve seems to think that the upcoming game will have some significance in terms of Half-Life's overarching story. It may not be the mythical Half-Life 3, but every report depicts Half-Life: Alyx as far more than a VR shooting gallery with a familiar skin: it's a fully-fledged game, and this promotion certainly supports that idea.

Half-Life: Alyx will release on Steam March 2020; every game in the franchise will remain free to play until then. To download them click here. 

Upon launch, the game will be compatible with the Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.