Fans turn up the pressure as 13,000 show up to Half-Life 3 protest

You may recall a few days ago we reported on a group of fans on Steam who planned to stage a protest for hte lack of Half-Life 3 communication from Valve.  The protest came in the form of a scheduled playing of Half-Life 2 to bring Valve's older game back into the spotlight.  The group, which boasted close to 30,000 members when we last reported, planned the portest for Saturday, February 4th.

The group, which now has over 50,000 members, celebrated the event turnout revealing roughly 13,000 fans took part in the protest.

"Today is the big day, and we've risen to the occasion. In a half hour, the player count for Half-Life 2 skyrocketed from approximately 3,000 to 13,216, representing a concurrent increase of 10,000," read a statement on the group board. "Also, during the event, we had a record of 607 people in group chat."

The 13,216 concurrent players finished 11th on the list for concurrent players in a game.  The goal was never to pressure Valve into announcing Half-Life 3, but rather let them know there is a group of fans out there that would like better communication.

"Our primary goal was to unite Half-Life fans in a unique and interesting way, and that was accomplished. Whether or not Valve will respond has yet to be determined; however, seven years after the release of Half-Life 2, over 13,000 fans have returned to play it again, together. That means something."

This is no doubt an achievement that should be recognized not only from Valve, but every developer.  For a group of gamers to be so proactive about a game and have the passion and drive to organize a playthrough like this is a testament of how much dedication they have to the Half-Life series.

The group leader announced they have no intention of stopping here though.  While impressed with the turnout, more events are being planned.

"I am personally impressed with what we've achieved today. We're nowhere near done — in fact, we are currently in the process of planning new activities; this was only our first attempt, and, in my eyes, was a success for everyone."

"If our group closed today, I would be proud of everything we've done and all the Half-Life fans who were able to unite together and work towards a common goal. However, we've got no intention of stopping now; this is only the beginning."

The group, which can be found here, now has 51,330 Members with about 4,500 playing Half-Life 2 at this very second.