The 25th anniversary of the game Half-Life caused a sharp increase in the number of players on the Steam platform, reaching a new historical peak over the weekend

The 25th anniversary of the game Half-Life, depicting a monorail enthusiast enduring the most rigorous job interview in history, was celebrated on Sunday. Valve, known for its reserved nature and forward-thinking approach, surprisingly embraced the occasion. On its YouTube channel, Valve released a new documentary featuring the original Half-Life team discussing the game's development process.

The studio rolled out a substantial update for the Steam version of Half-Life, restoring the menu screen to its original form, fixing persistent bugs, and introducing several new multiplayer maps.

This event and update sparked a frenzy around Half-Life, reflected in the peak player counts on Steam. The 1998 shooter reached new historic highs. However, it's important to note that player peak data has only been tracked since 2012, potentially suggesting higher numbers in Half-Life's past.

According to gamedeveloper.com, Half-Life surpassed its previous peak player count of 12,280 on Friday, escalating by 16.4% to 14,300 according to SteamDB. By Sunday, it reached an astonishing 33,471 players. At the time of writing, 13,372 individuals were actively playing Half-Life, surpassing its previous peak.

Determining whether this surge is due to nostalgia or the new update is challenging. Valve's temporary free offer until today likely contributed to the surge in interest, though it seems unusual for a Steam account to exist without Half-Life.

This combination revitalized Half-Life's multiplayer scene. A video shared by user Shweep on X showcases the full, intense action of a Half-Life deathmatch. Many people are active on the game's servers even at 12:00 GMT on a Monday when Europe is at work and America is asleep.