Half-Life: Alyx set to release March 23

Posted on February 14, 2020

It almost feels a bit too good to be true. Valve has today revealed that Half-Life: Alyx, their upcoming Virtual Reality Half-Life game, will be releasing on March 23rd, 2020. The game was previously announced for a March release window, but no specific date had been announced until now.

After a string of delays hit big 2020 game releases such as Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and even Dying Light 2, it seems almost a bit surreal for a Valve game not to receive the same treatment. Of course there’s still time for that to change, although this announcement so soon to release makes things very hopeful.

Half-Life: Alyx will be the first Half-Life game since Half-Life 2: Episode Two way back in 2007. For fans of the series, this feels like a long time coming. Unfortunately (for some), Half-Life: Alyx will be a series spin-off rather than a closing to the Half-Life narrative, playable only in VR. It will focus on previous side character, Alyx Vance, as she and her father Eli mount an early resistance against the Combine threat that are occupying Earth. It’s also a prequel, taking place between Half-Life and Half-Life 2.

Valve released some new screenshots to go along with the release date announcement. Check them out below.

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Half-Life: Alyx will be available to play on any Steam supported VR device, such as the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift. It will also support a whole number of input and controllers and facilitate room-scale. The game can also be played either sitting or standing and you can move with teleportation (a popular VR movement method) or more traditional movement options. Could this be the massive VR game everybody has been waiting for? We’ll have to wait until March 23rd to find out!

The game is available for pre-purchase on Steam.