half-Life 2 Pre-loading has begun among problems with leaked news of the pre-load and even an authentic pre-load advertisement finding its way on the web. Just as every other aspect of this tortured title, the pre-load has proved to be nothing like an easy ride for Valve.
Despite the leaks, the minor delays and the busy servers most users are likely to encounter, Valve has officially confirmed the start of the H-L 2 pre-load.
Over the coming days, those who have selected the pre-loading option will have encrypted Half-Life 2 files delivered to their PC. No purchase is required to pre-load HL2, but is required to activate the game. Purchase options will be released soon. Then, the moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased Half-Life 2 via Steam will be authenticated and ready to start playing.
The exact release date remains a secret but we are beginning to get that familiar September 30th feeling all over.