A hint of an anniversary update for Half-Life 2 was spotted in the Steam database – the legendary shooter will soon turn 20 years old

The legendary shooter Half-Life 2 will turn 20 years old in 2024, and judging by the behind-the-scenes activity, the developers from Valve studios are not going to leave fans empty-handed for the anniversary.

Image source: Steam (ジャックPV_ (J@ckPV))

The LambdaGeneration portal and Reddit forum users noticed that last weekend the creators of Half-Life 2 opened a test thread with the simple name test (see entry on SteamDB).

Typically, such changes are made before new content is added to the game or before the start of the “beta,” so the change was quickly seen as an unambiguous hint of a potential update for Half-Life 2.

Image source: SteamDB

As LambdaGeneration recalled, the original Half-Life received a similar test branch behind the scenes on the eve of the big anniversary update (the game turned 25 years old) last November.

Let us remind you that the Half-Life anniversary patch brought with it compatibility with the Steam Deck, support for gamepads and widescreen monitors, a Half-Life: Uplink mini-campaign, cut content and much more.

Image Source: Valve

It’s unclear what exactly might be included in the potential update. Fans are hoping for an upgrade for all games on the Source engine (it will also soon turn 20 years old), which includes Half-Life 2.

Half-Life 2 debuted on November 16, 2004 and sold over 12 million copies in its first seven years alone. The game received the highest ratings from critics (96% for the PC version on Metacritic) and has earned cult status in the community.