Half-Life

Story-driven first-person shooter — theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman survives an alien invasion of Black Mesa.

🌤indoor
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What is Half-Life?

Half-Life is a landmark story-driven first-person-shooter series developed by Valve, launched in 1998. It replaced level-select cut-scenes with a seamless, first-person narrative told entirely from theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman's viewpoint. Half-Life 2 (2004) added the industry-changing Source engine and Gravity Gun; Half-Life: Alyx (2020) is a landmark VR game. Also spawned Counter-Strike (as a mod) — one of the most-played competitive games ever.

Quick facts

Category

Video Games

Type

Individual

Players

1–8

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

1998, Valve — Half-Life 2 (2004) and Alyx (2020) among the most-acclaimed FPSs ever

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified