Overnight, a number of Steam s got a curious notification: "Half-Life Collection now free-to-play until launch of Half-Life: Alyx release date, you've got a fresh opportunity.
For the next two months, you've got free access to the following games: Half-Life; its two expansions, Opposing Force and Blue Shift; its engine revision, Half-Life Source; Half-Life 2; and its two expansions, Episode One and Episode Two. The promotion does not include the Half-Life Deathmatch games, or other adjacent titles like Team Fortress and Portal.
"Half-Life: Alyx is set before the events of Half-Life 2 and the episodes, but the games share characters and story elements," Valve says in the official announcement. "The Half-Life: Alyx team believes that the best way to enjoy the new game is to play through the old ones, especially Half-Life 2 and the episodes, so we want to make that as easy as possible."
Valve's offering a Valve Index stock, but the company says it's making every effort to meet demand for the VR headset ahead of the new game's launch.