In the world of first-person shooters, both the original Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are two of the most influential action games to come out over the twenty-plus years. Given that a fan-made Half-Life 2 remaster was leaked recently, it shows that the Valve sci-fi action games are not only highly regarded, but that players simply can't get enough of Gordon Freeman and co. In fact, just recently, the community banded together to try and beat the record for most concurrent HL2 players.
According to recent statistics, a group of Half-Life 2 fans got together to challenge themselves. The challenge was to have the most people playing at the same time, setting a new record. This was achieved by having as many people as possible playing the game at 4PM on August 14, and they were able to smash the previous record, which was set way back in 2012. While the previous record was 12, 953 which was reached nearly ten years ago, the new record is sitting pretty at 16,101. There's even a video which was uploaded, with the record being hit at just after the 45-minute mark.
This latest challenge began in the Half-Life subreddit, which was posted a month ago. In the thread, it was originally believed that the previous record was 6,882, until it was discovered to be the aforementioned number of more than 12,000. Plenty of fans of Half-Life jumped on the chance to boot up the Valve sequel and rise to the task, crowbars in hand. Players are always keen to return to the classics, and with Black Mesa proving to be popular, and a Half-Life 2 speedrunner breaking a record last year, it seems the "Free Man" is as relevant today as he was when he first came onto the scene.
With a new record being set for most concurrent players, it's obvious that the fan base is still keen to show the original Half-Life games a lot of love. While the likes of Half-Life: Alyx received a high score in reviews, the first two games will always be held aloft as landmarks in FPS gaming. Both the original 1998 release and the 2004 sequel have made an enormous impact on the video game world, with the first installment skyrocketing the developers to almost overnight fame.
Despite being 17 years old at this point, Half-Life 2 is still providing a lot of joy to the community. More than 16,000 players can't be wrong on that front, and with the fan-made Black Mesa showing others how episodic gaming should be done, it's clear that Valve's science-heavy first-person games have left a mark on players, and will continue to influence the industry for years to come.
Half-Life 2 is available now for PC.
Source: Steam Charts, Reddit