Half-Life: Alyx was officially announced on November 18 as Valve’s “flagship VR game,” with the promise of more information on Thursday, November 21 at 10 AM PT.
The news comes just a few days after Half-Life 2‘s 15th birthday and 12 whole years after the last real Half-Life game in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The series has since been long dormant, its iconic cliffhanger ending fueling over a decade’s worth of Half-Life 3 rumors, jokes, mods, and more. In 2017, retired Valve designer and former lead writer of the Half-Life series Marc Laidlaw published details on what would have allegedly been the plot of Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Countless user-created mods and even a fan-made remaster called Black Mesa have filled the void for Half-Life fans over the years, but no Half-Life 3.
But now, new rumors and the subsequent announcement from Valve has finally brought Half-Life back into the spotlight. Details are still scarce, but here’s everything we know about Half-Life: Alyx so far.
Is The Half-Life VR Game Real?
Yes, Half-Life: Alyx was officially announced by Valve.
There have been a lot of rumors, jokes, and memes around the idea of a new Half-Life game over the last decade, but this one’s coming from Valve itself. It isn’t Half-Life 3, but it’s still new Half-Life.
When Will We Know More About Half-Life: Alyx?
The full reveal of Half-Life: Alyx will happen later this week: Thursday, November 21 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Check back here for updates once we know more.
Where Did These Latest Rumors Start?
The most recent rumors, which eventually culminated in Valve’s official announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, started because of an alleged interview transcript between Geoff Keighley (supposedly) and Valve representatives. The now-deleted transcript suggested a December reveal at The Game Awards and a March 2020 release window. While Half-Life: Alyx is real, the rest of the information has not been confirmed by Valve.
Valve’s History With VR
Half-Life: Alyx isn’t the first time rumors or even official information from Valve on a Half-Life VR game have circulated. In March 2015, Valve programmer Jeep Barnett told Kotaku that Valve was not saying “no” to the possibility of Half-Life in VR.
“…we don’t know what the right thing is [yet],” Barnett told Kotaku. “Our most precious resource is time, and we don’t have enough time for people to do everything. Would we like to make all of our franchises in VR? Absolutely. But we don’t have enough time or people. So we have to figure out what’s the best fit, what plays to the strengths of VR.”
This was the same year Valve unveiled its Portal VR demo, which shipped with its first Vive dev kits that same year. In 2016, Valve released the HTC Vive to the public.
