How One Series Changed Gaming Forever: Half-Life

Each installment of the Half-Life series is known for making waves in the gaming industry from introducing new innovations to inspiring some of the world's most popular games.

With such a big legacy, expectations are high for Half-Life: Alyx, Valve's upcoming virtual reality first-person shooter poised to shake up the marketplace as a trailblazer in VR gaming that raises the bar for future titles.

Half-Life: Alyx is the first entry into the popular Half-Life franchise since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Two in 2007, with a release date set for Mar 23, 2020.

This is the story of how one video game series changed an entire industry.

Chapters

0:00 The VR gaming challenge

1:16 FPS genre evolution

2:11 Narrative innovation

3:18 Immersive level design

4:02 Advanced enemy AI

5:09 Half-Life's legacy

6:05 Half-Life 2 innovations

7:36 Impact and hiatus

8:19 Valve's shift to VR

10:00 Creating Half-Life: Alyx

11:10 VR potential realized

11:51 Building a VR ecosystem