There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to profiting from older video games. Some companies, such as Sega and SNK, package 30–40 games together and release them at a discounted price on modern systems, while companies like Square-Enix repackage the games individually and port them to every conceivable system at or near full price. Occasionally when a company remakes a game they will include the original version as a bonus for finishing the game (as was the case with the remake of Metroid for the GameBoy Advance). PC game makers Valve have opted for a much different course.

Valve has released some of the most beloved PC games of all time, and to celebrate the release of their new high profile game Left 4 Dead, they are offering PC gamers an incredible deal. Through the digital distribution site Steam, gamers can purchase a copy of Left 4 Dead for $50, or they can purchase Valve’s entire 22-game catalog for $99 instead of the $234 retail price. Thanks to virtually no overhead with digital distribution, Valve can let gamers experience some of the most critically acclaimed games from the past decade (such as Half-Life and Portal) for less than the cost of a single new game.

From a personal perspective as a longtime gamer, this is a fantastic way to catch up on a lot of the more popular games from years past while not having to break the bank. It is nice to see a game company that is interested in rewarding fans by giving them a deal rather than gouging them by releasing slightly upgraded versions of single games at full price, like some other companies tend to do.