The company strategically ensured that Half-Life 2 couldn’t be played without downloading or registering the game on Steam, which was a controversial move but also the world’s first push into digital distribution. The platform was launched to great success in 2003 thanks to the parent company, Valve, releasing it alongside one of the most highly anticipated PC games of all time: Half-Life 2. Steam is the world’s most popular digital PC games store - an online platform for downloading games straight to your computer instead of shopping at traditional retail outlets.
