Freespace 2 hyperjumps to Steam today

Update : Freespace 2 is now unlocked and available on Steam, and is marked down 50 percent to $5 until June 13.

Why now? I'd guess that the rather surprising interest in projects like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous have something to do with it. After all, aside from a few niche exceptions, the space combat sim has been dead for years—since Freespace 2 came out in 1999, really—and I don't think anyone expected Chris Roberts' "PC or bust" appeal to old-school joystick jockeys to go over quite as well as it did. But there's obviously demand for this sort of thing, the kind of demand people are willing to open their wallets to indulge, and if there's any one "must play" space sim on the market, it's Freespace 2.

This isn't the first "modern" release of Freespace 2, for the record; it's been available on GOG for awhile now, alongside its predecessor , which is a mighty good game in its own right. But if you have a "Steam or nothing" tendency, this is a good way to get into a great, great game.

Freespace 2 on Steam isn't actually available at this second, but is expected to unlock on the service shortly.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.