Half-Life News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

The pivotal first-person shooter is still breaking barriers today. was first released for PC on November 19, 1998. It was followed up by a direct sequel, 2006's, and then, after a decade and a half of rumored revivals and canceled projects, 2020's VR prequel. was notable at the time of release for its realistic world, fluid movement, and unique methods of video game storytelling. By using scripted events instead of cutscenes to move the plot along, it keeps control constantly in the player's hands.

Welcome to the IGN AU Daily Deals article, also unofficially known as the "How Low Can That Starfield Constellation Edition Go" limbo check. Full truth: I'm eyeing a purchase of it myself, and my absolute must-buy mark is going to be that magical $200. Shall we reach that numerical event horizon where nothing—not my money, or even light itself—can possibly escape? I dunno. But it was $256.14 yesterday...

Groundbreaking actor Louis Gossett Jr, known within the video game community for his work in Half-Life 2, has passed away at the age of 87. The initial voice of the Vortigaunts from the Half-Life franchise, Gossett Jr leaves behind an illustrious career that includes Broadway, television, and movies. At the time of writing, no cause of death has been disclosed following the announcement of his passing on March 29, 2024.

Gearbox Entertainment has been hit with a wave of layoffs, mere hours after the game development company announced its pending acquisition by Take-Two Interactive. After recent rumors that the company was potentially up for sale, it was confirmed on March 27 that Embracer Group will be selling Gearbox for $460 million. This comes after nearly a year of the Swedish media conglomerate divesting itself, through sale or closure, of multiple subsidiaries to increase cash flow.

Gearbox is now part of the Take-Two Interactive Family, in a deal that’s a fraction of what Embracer paid to originally acquire them.

Flat2VR Studios is a new developer dedicated to turning flatscreen games into VR experiences.

Very, very few games have managed to nail the gist and feel of Half-Life so compellingly as ADACA has. The really interesting bit, though, is that this little-known low-poly first-person shooter – arguably Half-Life’s best copycat – has just received its Episode Three, believe it or not.

If you haven’t played Black Mesa, the unofficial (yet wholly endorsed by Valve) remake of Half-Life, it’s definitely worth checking out. For those of us who have played – and enjoyed – it, the team responsible for it is teasing a new game that’s currently in the pipeline.

The studio responsible for refining Half-Life with an unofficial, Valve-approved reimagining has teased an upcoming project that needs beta testers. 

It's potentially fantastic — and arguably overdue — news for PSVR 2 owners, as Sony has confirmed the VR headset is being tested to support games available on PC.

Half-Life recently received a big update to celebrate its 25th birthday, but a significant bug remained. In a famous scripted sequence during which a long, green tentacle busts through a window and drags away a scientist, the scientist and the tentacle would be mis-aligned, making it look like the scientist floated out of the window of his own volition.

has received a major overhaul via the 25th Anniversary Update, which now includes a way to play with friends in a multiplayer mode. However, the age of the title makes it very tricky to set up a server that other players can join. Only those with strong connections and protection can invite a party of friends into a space where they can relive experiences from this iconic title.

Newell didn't want to force the original Half-Life out the door before it was ready.

Half-Life turns 25 years old tomorrow, with new maps and updates to celebrate. Valve also reunited the game's original developers for an hour-long making-of documentary in which its original programmers and artists reminisce about creating the first-person classic at a time when many of them had never shipped a game before.

Half-Life came out 25 years ago tomorrow and to celebrate Valve ahve released an anniversary update. It includes four new multiplayer maps, updated graphics settings, and fully verified Steam Deck support. It also includes some new multiplayer models and skins, including proto-Barney and the original design for Gordon Freeman, pictured above.

Valve is celebrating the birthday of one of its most beloved games (and there are a lot of them to pick from) this weekend as it’s the, and the original game is getting a big update.

Valve has released a new update for Half-Life to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Along with the legendary first-person shooter being available to claim free on Steam until November 20th, the update adds Steam Deck support, controller support and even the Half-Life: Uplink demo. If that weren’t enough, a one-hour documentary is live with the original development team. Check it out below.

This massive update also adds new multiplayer maps, restores old contents, and fixes numerous bugs.

Seminal first-person shooter Half-Life turns 25 this weekend, and developer Valve is celebrating the occasion with a special anniversary update adding new and restored content, alongside a bunch of other things. Oh, and it's made the game free to claim and keep starting today.

It turns out that legendary first-person shooter Half-Life could have been named Free Radical or Fallout back when it was still in development in 1997. As caught by VideoGamesChronicle, former Valve developer Dario Casali, who worked on Half-Life as a level designer, revealed a few of the proposed names for Half-Life.

Update: As it turns out, the companion app is outdated and has since been removed from the Google Play Store. So no Half-Life-related news at Gamescom (yet).