Half-Life 2


Key events

FeatureThe impossible architecture of video games

Bang head against wall of text.

Chet Faliszek has left Valve

Portal and Left 4 Dead writer runs out of Steam.

Former Valve employee is suing the company for $3.1m

Alleges developer exploited minors for free labour, discriminated against transgender staff.

FeatureThe man who sent his game to Gabe Newell in a briefcase

A chance encounter and an unlikely tale.

Half-Line Miami, a free fan-made crossover, is out now

Do you like hurting people, Mr. Freeman?

Half-Life 2 RTS Lambda Wars releases on Steam

Alien Swarm mod now a free download after Valve Greenlight.

FeatureHalf-Life 2 remembered

"You've arrived in City 17..."

FeatureHalf-Life 2: 10 years on

You remember, don't you, Mr Freeman?

Steam Music Player lets you listen to your music while you play

Half-Life and Portal soundtracks DLC going free.

The Half-Life 2 VR mod makes even reloading seem cool

See how Oculus and Hydra combine to revolutionise shooters.

Half-Life 2 and Portal go portable on Nvidia Shield

Cost $9.99 each on Google Play.

Valve set to demo its own Virtual Reality hardware

And reveal how it will work with Steam.

Valve reveals specs of its Steam Machine prototype

Combines high-end power with a living-room-friendly form factor.

FeatureOmni treadmill: The future of VR goes in every direction

Walk this way. No, not that way. THIS WAY!

Ex-Valve hardware chief offers an alternative view on life inside the Half-Life maker

"There is actually a hidden layer of powerful management structure in the company, and it felt a lot like High School."



Half-Life 2 gets official Oculus Rift support

See video of it and Dishonored played with the headset.

Screenshots of Half-Life 2 mod Minerva

A single-player story by a fan-turned-Valve-employee.

Acclaimed Half-Life 2 mod Minerva polished up and released on Steam

The mod that bagged Adam Foster a job at Valve.

J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell want to collaborate on movies, games

UPDATE: Abrams really is in talks with Valve about Half-Life/Portal movies. "It's as real as anything in Hollywood ever gets."

Gabe Newell named as next AIAS Hall of Famer

Oh they'll induct anyone have they no standards etc..

Gabe Newell confirms Valve working on Source 2

Waiting for a game to release it with. What could that be?

Valve "jumping in" to computer hardware space

"We're frustrated by the lack of innovation."

Viktor Antonov's Half-Life 2 concept artwork

Some of it, and not in glorious real-life-like resolutions.

Why Half-Life 2 City 17 creator Viktor Antonov left Valve

"It causes a lot of surprise that anyone would leave."

FeatureValve Interview: Gabe Newell Isn't The Boss of Me

Jason Holtman gives a peek inside Valve's unique structure


The creator of Half-Life 2's City 17 and Dishonored tells us why.



Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive support Razer Hydra PC motion controller

Added to Left 4 Dead 2, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and 250 Steam games.



FeatureWhy Devs Owe You Nothing

When does a game belong to its fans rather than its creators?

10,000 Valve fans stage Half-Life 3 protest

But far less than 50,000 signed up to do so.

Half-Life 3 fan campaign staging mass gameplay session


Valve: piracy a "non-issue" for Steam

Perhaps Gabe Newell along.

Games bleeding into real life - study

Fantastical reactions to mundane situations.

Garry's Mod racks up a million downloads

Big update planned for Half Life 2 mod.

Valve's Half-Life dev hampered by Steam?

Impulse maker Stardock draws parallels.

Garry's Mod sets trap for pirates

Clever code names and shames.

FeatureThe boy who stole Half-Life 2

From the archive: the story behind the $250m robbery.

Steam owns half PC download market

Is "tremendously profitable" says Newell.

VideoHalf-Life fan film premiered online

Beyond Black Mesa took 2 years to make.

VideoMolyneux gets son begging Valve for HL3

Lucas Molyneux makes YouTube plea.

Half-Life 2 actor passes away

Robert Culp played Dr Wallace Breen.

Valve bundles 22 games for USD 99

Includes Left 4 Dead. Bargain!

Steam Cloud to launch this week

Centralise game data starting with L4D.

Chunky Orange Box PS3 patch released

Should remedy many of the problems.

FeatureValve's Doug Lombardi

Chatting about Portal and whether Orange Box will return.

Portal: First Slice for NVIDIA users

Valve loves it some NVIDIA.

The Orange Box

We pit EA's port against PC and 360.

World of Mods: Half-Life 2

Games that are free, so long as you've already paid.

AMD and Valve hold hands

Free Steam for Radeon owners.

FeatureOpening the Valve


FeatureOpening the Valve


Half-Life 2 on Xbox 360?

Possibly. One day.

Garry's Mod to be sold on Steam

$10 for Half-Life 2 mod.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 underway

Valve confirms its existence.

64-bit Half-Life 2 released

For Athlon 64 FX processors.

Half-Life 2

Console yourself, it's finally here.

Half-Life 2 Xbox dated

'-Life is complete.

A Few Good G-Men

Movie gets HL2 makeover.

HL2 Lost Coast screens

It's all gone HDR.

Half-Life 2

Could the gravity gun lift the Xbox?

Valve unveils E3 plans

Half-Life 2 Xbox, PC's Lost Coast bit on show.

HL2: Lost Coast trailer


Euro HL2 Xbox late summer


FeatureHalf-Life 2: The Lost Coast

Valve gives a glimpse of its next-gen plans, providing more info on its single Half-Life 2 level for high end PCs.

Half-Life 2

Moves the goalposts. With a gravity gun.

FeatureE3 2003: Half-Life 2

Three words: Oh. My. God.

FeatureHalf-Life 2

The original game had a decent Half-Life, and this one looks like it might too...