All Half-Life Games Are Now Free On Steam Until Alyx Launch

The Half-Life franchise is one of Valve's biggest contributions to the gaming industry next to Steam. It has, however, let that property languish for more than a decade now. Fortunately, that period of dormancy will be ending in two months or so as Valve readies its biggest game release in years. And to make sure that everyone is also ready for Half-Life: Alyx, the company is making all Half-Life titles available for free at least until the prequel-sequel comes out in March.

Half-Life chronicles the struggles and misadventures of physicist-turned-soldier Gordon Freeman as the protagonist battles an alien invasion. The rest, as they say, is gaming history and Half-Lif quickly grew a cult following that generated fan-made content, both short videos and mods, for years to come.

Now old and new gamers alike can relive all of that thanks to Valve's generous offer. Actually, it's a pretty ingenious strategy not only to build up hype for Half-Life: Alyx but also to make sure everyone will be on the same page with that game launches. After all, only a loyal few might be able to remember all the details of the games enough to seamlessly transition to Alyx.

All official Half-Life titles are being offered for free. And "all" really means all, including:

• Half-Life

• Half-Life 2

• Half-Life 2: Episode One

• Half-Life 2: Episode Two

• Half-Life: Opposing Force

• Half-Life: Blue Shift

It even has Team Fortress Classic included in the set just for kicks, even if it's not directly related to Half-Life.

Each game's page indicates that the titles are free for two months, which is when Half-Life: Alyx is set to launch. Provided there are no delays, of course, though at least gamers will something to while their time. It also gives them enough time to make sure they have the requirements for playing Alyx in the first place, which practically means having a VR rig, preferably with a Valve Index.