A brand new AAA Half-Life game. Who'd have thought it? Many a year has passed since Half-Life 2 arrived along with a little bit of software called Steam. As is standard with change, everyone hated Steam until they didn't, and it's now the de facto PC gaming platform. But while Steam flourished, Half-Life withered. Not anymore. Half-Life: Alyx is a VR exclusive coming to Steam in March 2020. 12 years is a long time in gaming tech though, so you'll need quite a rig if you hope to run it.

For gamers without an obscene amount of cash taking up precious space in their wallets, the news that Half-Life: Alyx would be a VR-exclusive no doubt caused its fair share of disappointment. Here we are, waiting, well, half our lives for a new Half-Life, and along comes a version targeted at a comparatively microscopic audience. It’s frustrating, for sure, but Valve also felt it was a necessary step in order to truly push the Half-Life franchise forward in a meaningful way. 

In addition to the first gameplay from Half-Life: Alyx, Valve has also revealed that the Source 2 SDK (Software Development Kit) will ship with the virtual reality title.

Valve’s decision to target VR for its first new Half-Life game in 12 years was always going to prove divisive. Fans have been desperate for either Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or Half-Life: Alyx is a brand new Half-Life, it’s what we’ve been desperate for years.

It’s happened. After 12 long years, Valve has finally announced a new Half-Life. Valve took to Twitter to make it official, confirming the long rumoured VR Half-Life game. It’s called Half-Life: Alyx and it’s touted as a flagship virtual reality title; a game designed to be a real selling point for Steam VR.