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Half-Life boxart

Half-Life

Platforms

PC
PS2

Initial release Nov. 19, 1998

Developers

Valve
Valve Corporation
Valve Software

Genres

Action Adventure
Puzzle
Shooter

Publishers

Sierra Entertainment
Valve
Valve Corporation

Franchise Half-Life

Half-Life Feed

News

Amazon tried to buy part of Valve in the days before Steam, according to former exec who says she's been "erased" from Valve's history

"Women, especially in tech, often seem to disappear when the story gets told."

Sept. 9, 2024 Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance pose in Half-Life 2 artwork.

News

Valve "White Sands" project spotted on Starfield voice actor portfolio, prompting Half-Life speculation

Is that you, Gordon?

Aug. 5, 2024 Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Morte the skull sidkick from Planescape: Torment.

Feature

What's better: Half-Life's Snarks or Planescape: Torment's Litany Of Curses?

Vote now as we continue deciding the single best thing in games

Jan. 10, 2024 Alice O'Connor

A scientist is dragged away by the Tentacle in Half-Life.

News

A Half-Life bug introduced by Windows 2000 just got fixed at last

That tentacle is going to be happy

Nov. 25, 2023 Graham Smith

A zombie attacks in a corridor with a chequered floor in Half-Life.

News

All of Half-Life's textures were created by a single person, new making-of documentary explains

Valve's anniversary doc reunites the original team

Nov. 18, 2023 Graham Smith

Ivan the Space Biker and Proto-Barney in Half-Life's 25th anniversary update.

News

Half-Life is Steam Deck verified with new multiplayer maps for its 25th anniversary

Nostalgia and novelty

Nov. 18, 2023 Graham Smith

Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance pose in Half-Life 2 artwork.

Feature

What's better: A silent protagonist, or combat style ratings?

Vote now as we continue trying to decide the single best thing in games

May 24, 2023 Alice O'Connor

A headcrab rockets down a Black Mesa funicular shaft in a Half-Life screenshot.

Feature

Why the mysterious love affair between video games and giant elevators may begin with Akira

Where did they come from? What are they for?

May 8, 2023 Lewis Packwood

The resonance cascade in progress in a Half-Life: Ray Traced screenshot.

News

Half-Life's raytracing mod is great because it makes the game look old in a new way

Turn on all the mucky filters and revel in the fancy mess

March 2, 2023 Alice O'Connor

Alyx and the giant robot Dog in Half-Life-2

Feature

"The narrative had to be baked into the corridors": Marc Laidlaw on writing Half-Life

Also yeah, he does regret posting that Episode 3 story

March 1, 2023 Jeremy Peel

An underground food court in Black Mesa

News

Barney returns tomorrow in Chapter 4 of Black Mesa's Blue Shift mod

A mod for the expansion to a remake of a classic

Dec. 9, 2022 Matt Cox

Gazing up at the sunset over a castle in the Half-Life map skybox, as seen by the Twitter box Skybox Satellite.

News

This Twitter bot tours Half-Life skyboxes to brighten up your timeline

Skybox Satellite gazes up at the Half-Life heavens

Sept. 1, 2022 Alice O'Connor

Father Grigori was one of the characters in Arkane's cancelled Half-Life 2 spin-off Ravenholm.

News

A full hour of Arkane’s scrapped Half-Life game Ravenholm has emerged

Noclip shares new footage captured during their 2020 Arkane documentary

May 6, 2022 CJ Wheeler

Gordon Freeman riding the tram in Half-Life's intro.

News

Half-Life's tram intro using the TikTok voice is distressing

But this great/horrible joke mod... kinda works?

April 25, 2022 Alice O'Connor

Shiny action in Half-Life: Ray Traced's trailer.

News

A new mod adding raytracing to Half-Life looks nice, not just shiny

Quite nice, as raytracing mods go!

Jan. 10, 2022 Alice O'Connor

Just look at these gorgeous Half-Life CD ROMs

Feature

Just look at these gorgeous Half-Life CD ROMs

Relics from the distant past

Dec. 29, 2021 Katharine Castle

The Steam Deck on a white background at an angle

News

Valve are updating Half-Life and more for Steam Deck

Play Portal portable

Dec. 20, 2021 Georgina Young

Half-Life: Gordon walks down a hall carrying his crowbar while a headcrab leaps through the air towards the camera with its mouth open.

News

A former Half-Life designer is showing off prototypes and rejected bloodbaths

Would it have been a classic if it were called "Trip Hammer"?

July 9, 2021 Lauren Morton

Return to a top-down Black Mesa in the unofficial Half-Life Loop

News

Return to a top-down Black Mesa in the unofficial Half-Life Loop

I'd go with "Rogue Life"

June 30, 2021 Craig Pearson

A view of Xen in a Black Mesa screenshot.

News

Black Mesa opens a playable museum of Xen's history

With versions of maps from across years of development

April 27, 2021 Alice O'Connor

Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 has begun

News

Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 has begun

Hide your glitches

Jan. 4, 2021 Imogen Beckhelling

Black Mesa's Definitive Edition update makes it just about finished

News

Black Mesa's Definitive Edition update makes it just about finished

Performance improvements and extra prettiness

Nov. 25, 2020 Alice O'Connor

AGDQ 2021 lineup includes Hades and Sekiro

News

AGDQ 2021 lineup includes Hades and Sekiro

Honourable mention for the Celeste speedun, because those runs are always amazing

Nov. 3, 2020 Imogen Beckhelling

Five cool things we learned from Valve's Half-Life: Alyx - Final Hours documentary

Feature

Five cool things we learned from Valve's Half-Life: Alyx - Final Hours documentary

From wheely desks to invisible headcrabs

July 13, 2020 Imogen Beckhelling

The 9 worst scientists in PC games

Feature

The 9 worst scientists in PC games

One Off The List

July 3, 2020 Brendan Caldwell

Half-Life Gallery

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Caption

Attribution

Games from the Half-Life franchise