I was looking at my Steam library the other day, and got to wondering, with this basically being a list of every PC game I've purchased in the last 5 years or so...which one was the first?

I'm pretty sure in my case, it was Bioshock. I had really been looking forward to it, but for some reason, the Best Buy near me had sold out, so I decided to give Steam a try. It wasn't my first digital-only game, I'd purchased Neverwinter Nights 2 via Direct2Drive, and had been really unimpressed (can't remember why), but was actually really blown away by how fast and easy Steam was. I don't think I've bought a boxed copy of a game since then.

What's the first game you guys bought on Steam?

I'm going to bet my answer is also going to be, by far, the most common: HL2.

Registered? Half-Life 1. Actually bought on the Steam Shop front? Day of Defeat Source Pre-Order.

First game I ever bought using the Steam store was Braid. Otherwise, Half-Life 2.

Half-life 2 was the first Steam game I purchased, but I bought that at retail and activated it on Steam. The first game I actually purchased on Steam itself was Geometry Wars.

I'm pretty sure mine is Half-Life 2 as well. First thing I bought when I built my own computer at 16 too. I had already played it but wanted to see the PC version in action.

You can actually see the first game that entered your library, in the upper right corner of your library is a button that says "[user]'s account". In the dropdown menu click account details, and scroll down to the very bottom and your first game should be the first one on the list.

Answer for me is Half-Life 1 during the 10th anniversary sale where it was $0.99.

AVP Classic 2000 three or four years ago when it was first released on he service.

Good question, have no idea...

Can't even remember when Steam first started, like 2004? 2005?

I got HL2 free from buying a Radeon card way back then, maybe that was my first DL through Steam.

I have HL1 but I know that was a boxed copy before Steam.

hmm...

Ah, thanks @c0l0nelp0c0rn1

ATI Bundle - Complimentary

HL2 Silver - Complimentary

HL2: Episode One - Complimentary

Left 4 Dead 2 - Retail

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl - Steam Store

Looks like Stalker wins for official first purchase.

Counter Strike: Source was the first thing I had on Steam (bought a boxed copy.) I'm not sure what the first thing I actually purchased through steam was. Maybe Half-Life 2.

The first and only game I've bought on Steam is VVVVVV. Cool game, and my machine doesn't meet the minimum requirements to play anything else, really.

Apparently it was Darwinia... I did not expect that.

I registered my hl, cs, op, bs, tf pack during the beta. other than that, HL2.

Checked my account history and it was The Witcher 2, then I want a crazy spree during the steam sale.

Lost Planet, no I am not kidding.

Mass Effect, for €2, almost 4 years ago. I knew about Steam before making my first purchase, but I never cared about it enough to try it out.

Fastforward to 2012 and I have 224 games registered to date.

It says Bioshock but I think I bought Bioshock, Borderlands, and The Orange Box at the same time.

i was one of those that couldn't play HL2 on day one because steam fucked up couldn't activate the game. so my first experience was a little tainted.

"Member since: September 12, 2003"
 
Half-Life 2 I would think. Steam doesn't list anything earlier than 2008 in my history?

Sin Episodes: Emergence

My first Steam game was actually an indie bundle that contained BIT.TRIP RUNNER, Nightsky, NyxQuest, Swords & Soliders HD, and World of Goo.

If you mean individual game, then that would be Metro 2033.

Portal was the first game I got on Steam, didn't buy it though, it was free for a couple days and I decided to register and take it.

Portal, but that was when it was free.

I signed up for steam after buying HL2 GOTY (HL2 + E1 + CS:S), but the first thing I actually bought was the complete Tales of Monkey Island pack, on sale if I remember correctly.

Technically it was Half Life 2, but that was just so I could play Gmod.

Braid. Didn't have a HD console at the time and was interested

I still haven't bought anything on Steam.

Left 4 Dead 2 was the first game I have purchased on steam. Previously only retail titles that activated there.

I registered a boxed copy of Half-Life Generation (the version without Blue Shift) at the end of 2003.

Each games product key would give you a Steam account with all Half-Life games, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Deathmatch Classic, Day of Defeat and Ricochet unlocked.

I remember it crashing a lot and I went back to WON.

I distinctly recall I was given Counter Strike: Source for Christmas one year, and that is what got me to install Steam. My first purchase through the service was TF2 a year or so later after I participated in the free weekend held after the goldrush update.

Condition Zero, weird.

Counter Strike

Oblivion Game of the Year Deluxe Edition

Registered: Portal

Bought: Binding of Isaac

Registered: Half-Life 2 Retail

Bought: Oblivion Game of the Year Deluxe

Probably whatever the first one was.

I bought a copy of The Orange Box in 2009, which meant I was forced to use Steam. I guess that counts? If it doesn't, the first game I actually bought on Steam was Jade Empire: Special Edition.

I think I bought a box with half life, blue shift, the other one and counter strike in it.

If that counts?

when I look at my details at the bottom of the list I have steam itself, and the Orange Box, and then World of Goo. since TOB was a retail game I bought (which I believe is what finally made me install Steam, I used to be very against digital distribution but have laxed somewhat) I guess World of Goo gets the honor of first game purchased through steam for me :)

Orange Box

@Shivoa said:

I'm going to bet my answer is also going to be, by far, the most common: HL2.

+1

I mean, of course. Steam used to be this weird thing that Half Life 2 made you do.

HL2 for creating a Steam account. My first legit purchase was Rag Doll Kung Fu

left for dead 2 for like 5 bucks during a holiday sale like 5 years ago

Audio Surf i was very skeptical of Steam for like 7 years then i bought a game then i realized its not that bad and a eazy to use system

Half-Life 2

I remember being pretty unsure about the whole "steam" thing. Seems to have turned out well enough.

My current account is Left 4 Dead. Somewhere down the line I had another account that that had Counterstrike Condition Zero as the first. I couldn't recover it for some reason.

Bought Dawn of War II at retail which made me install steam, and the rest is history.

@Silvergun: I think it was probably Alpha Protocol and Company of Heroes.