Valve Corporation may be giving away a free copy of Half-LIfe: Alyx to Steam Frame buyers, according to a new datamine.
Extended Reality (XR) specialist Brad Lynch (aka SadlyItsBradley) took to Twitter/X to share his findings from a datamine of Steam’s back-end code, including references to an “Alyx” promotion. According to him, Valve Corporation is “setting up the system” to give a copy of Half-Life: Alyx to everyone who purchases a Steam Frame. He also pointed out that the company previously used the same strategy for customers who purchased the Valve Index.
The evidence comes from several strings visible in the datamined code, including “AccountHardwarePromotions,” “HLAlyxPromoButtons,” and “Frame Alyx Promo.” They strongly suggest that Valve has been preparing a dedicated hardware promotion connected to Half-Life: Alyx and the upcoming Steam Frame.
As of writing, Valve has yet to officially announce the promotion, so its exact terms remain unknown. It is not yet clear whether every Steam Frame buyer who doesn’t already own a copy will receive the game or if the offer will be limited to an initial launch period.
The potential offer would make sense from Valve’s perspective. Half-Life: Alyx remains one of the most prominent high-end VR gaming experiences, making it an ideal showcase for the company’s new headset. The game was previously bundled with the Valve Index, which launched in 2019, months before Alyx itself arrived in March, 2020.
Lynch’s findings come as Valve appears to be moving closer to the Steam Frame’s launch, although the company has yet to officially reveal its final price and release date. Last month, insider and content creator Tyler McVicker claimed to have heard that the price of the Steam Frame will be “much higher” than he had originally expected. His previous estimate put the Steam Frame’s base model at around 1,100 US Dollars, but he now believes it was too conservative. More details here.
