In a brilliantly concocted promotion, Valve announced today that owners of
ATI Radeon graphics cards can score a handful of free games via
Steam.
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch are among the freebies, and the promotion includes discounts on other games as well. In addition, Steam will be included in all ATI Catalyst Software and Driver packages through early 2008. Anyone who buys the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT will also receive
Team Fortress 2,
Portal, and
Half-Life 2: Episode Two, which is almost more gaming goodness than the human mind can comprehend.
For ATI owners, the glorious details can be found on
Steam's official website. The nVIDIA Owners Anti-Steam Support (and Crying) Group will begin its weekly meetings this Saturday.
[Via
GameDaily]
{ May 31st 2007 at 12:29PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Anam @ May 31st 2007 12:58PM
Valve, you don't need to make your games free. Really, I want to pay for them. I have good money right here that I will pay for Half-Life 2, you just need to make it available for Mac and the money is yours. Won't you let me be your customer?
Jake11 @ May 31st 2007 12:59PM
thats been going on for a while. i got HL2 for free for getting an ATI 9600 or something like 3 years ago
Geoff Gibson @ May 31st 2007 1:09PM
I feel like I was just punished for getting the wrong brand of video cards...
What can I say the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT PCI-e was a hellofalot cheaper than the ATI equivilent at the time.
ALH @ May 31st 2007 1:10PM
haha, oh wow, nice. shame i have a daily cap of 500mb, else id totally be downloading these
Matt B @ May 31st 2007 1:50PM
Normally when you buy a $500 video card, you do get some free games.
nVidia FTW!!
Final Prototype @ May 31st 2007 4:35PM
Good, I needed a new graphics card anyway for Spore in a few months. Now I at least get HL2:E2 for free.
monkeygenx @ May 31st 2007 9:06PM
www.petitiononline.com/Valvepet/petition.html
jay @ May 31st 2007 5:17PM
This is friggin excellent. All my Macs use ATi so I've installed them on my families machines for a bit of deathmatch fun :)
and I'm buying half price Episode 1! I never thought it was worth the full asking price for a very short game. This really is great for me.
caramelzappa @ May 31st 2007 5:35PM
So with my current all in wonder, I'll get games I already own for free, sweet?
My 8800GTS, even after I buy HL2:2, and portal, will still be cheaper than the 2900XT, and will have more mature drivers.
caramelzappa @ May 31st 2007 5:45PM
Also, do we have a release date for HL2:2 yet? I've been wanting to play it, and portal since episode 1 was released. What's the point of episodic content if you don't release the next episode until a year later? I'm waiting a year to play all of what, 3 hours of gameplay?
It seems like game development is just taking longer and longer these days.
Mark F @ May 31st 2007 5:45PM
hey do i need half life 2 for these to work, or do I simply download these two free games and they work on their own?
Ghede @ May 31st 2007 5:55PM
Next time, choose a better image for stories like this. I rushed to my computer with steam and an ATI card on it, only to discover that half-life episode one isn't one of the free games. Thanks.
laserboyjc @ May 31st 2007 8:37PM
@ Ghede
the image they "chose" is actually what is on the Steam site right now, if you have an issue take it up with them
Bosz @ May 31st 2007 11:59PM
@ 6
Final Prototype, I'm sorry to break this to you, but Spore's not coming until Q2 '08...
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/08/no-spore-until-q2-2008-no-seriously/
*Cries inside*
O_o @ Jun 1st 2007 6:09AM
I believe ATi ceased to exist some time ago.
Geo @ Jun 1st 2007 9:11AM
@ 10 Mark F
you dont need Half Life 2 to play HL episode 1 and episode 2 each game is independent if you purchase an ATI HD 2900XT you are getting HL2 goodness, portal and team fortress but you also will recieve day of defeat WW2 multiplayer game for free via steam while you wait for the rest of the games that i already mention, nice bundle rigth, i recommend anyone the new ATI HD 2900XT it has better performance and features than the Nvidia 8800 GTS 640mb........
Aux @ Jun 1st 2007 11:10AM
Wow, so let me get this straight. If you buy an ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT card, you get Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two? Sweet, will those actually come out before that card becomes obsolete or what?
Trio @ Jun 1st 2007 1:34PM
@ 17 aux
That does`nt make sence....
Trio @ Jun 1st 2007 1:42PM
@ 17 aux
That does`nt make sence of course they will be for 2007 not until 2008, shame on you.......
Geo @ Jun 1st 2007 1:47PM
@ 17 aux
this games will be out for this year not 2008.......
James @ Jun 2nd 2007 1:09PM
Wait, I'm confused -- "Lost Coast" was like a half-hour tech-demo or something, I thought (and free to all HL2 owners anyway, IIRC), and HL2 Deathmatch is pointless (and also, I thought, free to all HL2 owners. Unless this program has been going on since HL2 was first released? I bought HL2 when it first came out, and I remember playing through Lost Coast shortly thereafter (and definitely didn't pay for it). HL2 Deathmatch was available the day I bought HL2 (I think), and I didn't install it, but I was pretty sure it was free at the time.
Did they start charging for previously-free content sometime in the last year or two (and then make it free again for certain people), or did I miss something?
James @ Jun 2nd 2007 1:16PM
Update: I think I get it now -- if you happen to own an ATI card, but not HL2, you can still get a "taste" of the game with deathmatch and one single-player level (Lost Coast). Why not make these free to everybody? You'd probably sell more HL2 bundles that way...
Geo @ Jun 2nd 2007 4:28PM
@21 & 22 James
Update2: the games that will be free if you own an ATI 2900XT are Half life 2 Episode 2,Portal and Team Fortress 2 the black box include the code or codes for this 3 games beside the other 2 games that you just mention, did you get it now............
Geo @ Jun 2nd 2007 4:32PM
Update 3: i forgot to tell you that if you own the HD 2900XT you also recieve Day of Defeat a multiplayer WW2 game, btw is fun..........