Editing Half-Life (video game)

{{Short description|1998 video game}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Half-Life
| image = Half-Life Cover Art.jpg
| developer = [[Valve Corporation|Valve]]{{efn|Ported to the PlayStation 2 by [[Gearbox Software]]}}
| publisher = [[Sierra Studios]]{{efn|Valve published the Mac and Linux versions and currently publishes the Windows version.}}
| series = ''[[Half-Life (series)|Half-Life]]''
| engine = [[GoldSrc]]
| platforms = {{Unbulleted list|[[Windows]]|[[PlayStation 2]]|[[macOS]]|[[Linux]]}}
| released = {{Collapsible list
| title = {{Nobold|November 19, 1998}}
| '''Windows'''
| {{Video game release|NA|November 19, 1998<ref>{{cite web |url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_11/19_pc_half/index.html |title=Half-Life Released |first=Michael |last=Mullen |date=November 19, 1998 |website=[[GameSpot]] |archive-date=January 15, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000115234952/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_11/19_pc_half/index.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>|EU|November 27, 1998<ref name="pcguk_68">{{Cite magazine |date=December 1998 |title=Reviews • Half-Life |magazine=[[PC Gamer UK]] |publisher=[[Future Publishing]] |issue=68 |page=86}}</ref>}}
| '''PlayStation 2'''
| {{Video game release|NA|November 14, 2001<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2007 |title=Half-Life PS2 Ships to Retail - Available Nov 14th - PS2 News |url=http://ps2.gamezone.com/news/11_06_01_01_55PM.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429043819/http://ps2.gamezone.com/news/11_06_01_01_55PM.htm |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |access-date=May 21, 2023 |website=GameZone}}</ref>|EU|November 30, 2001}}
| '''macOS, Linux'''
| {{Video game release|WW|February 14, 2013}}
}}
| genre = [[First-person shooter]]
| modes = [[Single-player]], [[multiplayer]]
| writer = [[Marc Laidlaw]]
| composer = [[Kelly Bailey (composer)|Kelly Bailey]]
}}

'''''Half-Life'''''<!--Do not add stylization in this since it's only used in box art and title screen.--> is a 1998 [[first-person shooter|first-person shooter game]] developed by [[Valve Corporation]] and published by [[Sierra Studios]] for [[Windows]]. It was Valve's debut product and the first game in the [[Half-Life (series)|''Half-Life'' series]]. The player assumes the role of [[Gordon Freeman]], a scientist who must escape from the [[Black Mesa Research Facility]] after it is overrun by [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|alien]] creatures following a disastrous scientific experiment. The gameplay consists of combat, exploration and puzzles.

Valve was disappointed with the lack of innovation in the FPS genre, and aimed to create an immersive world rather than a "shooting gallery". Unlike other games at the time, the player has almost uninterrupted control of the [[player character]]; the story is mostly experienced through [[scripted sequence]]s rather than [[cutscene]]s. Valve developed the game using [[GoldSrc]], a heavily modified version of the [[Quake engine|''Quake'' engine]], licensed from [[id Software]]. The science fiction novelist [[Marc Laidlaw]] was hired to craft the plot and assist with design.

''Half-Life'' received acclaim for its graphics, gameplay and narrative and won more than 50 [[PC game|PC]] "[[List of Game of the Year awards|Game of the Year]]" awards. It is considered one of the most influential first-person shooter games and one of the [[List of video games considered the best|greatest video games ever made]]. By 2008, it had sold more than nine million copies. It was ported to the [[PlayStation 2]] in 2001, along with the multiplayer expansion ''[[Half-Life: Decay|Decay]]'', and to [[OS X]] and [[Linux kernel|Linux]] in 2013. Valve ported ''Half-Life'' to its [[Source (game engine)|Source]] engine as '''''Half-Life: Source''''' in 2004. In 2020, ''[[Black Mesa (video game)|Black Mesa]]'' was released, an unofficial fan-made remake of ''Half-Life'' developed by Crowbar Collective using the Source engine.

''Half-Life'' inspired numerous fan-made [[Mod (video gaming)|mods]], some of which became standalone games, such as ''[[Counter-Strike (video game)|Counter-Strike]]'', ''[[Day of Defeat]]'', and ''[[Sven Co-op]]''. It was followed by the [[expansion pack]]s ''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force|Opposing Force]]'' (1999) and ''[[Half-Life: Blue Shift|Blue Shift]]'' (2001), developed by [[Gearbox Software]], and the sequels ''[[Half-Life 2]]'' (2004), ''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One|Episode One]]'' (2006), ''[[Half-Life 2: Episode Two|Episode Two]]'' (2007) and ''[[Half-Life: Alyx]]'' (2020).

== Gameplay ==
''Half-Life'' is a [[first-person shooter]] that requires the player to perform combat tasks and puzzle solving to advance through the game. Unlike most first-person shooters at the time, which relied on [[cutscene|cut-scene intermissions]] to detail their plotlines, ''Half-Life''{{'}}s story is told mostly using [[scripted sequence]]s (bar one short cutscene), keeping the player in control of the [[first-person (video games)|first-person viewpoint]]. In line with this, the player rarely loses the ability to control the [[player character]], [[Gordon Freeman]], who never speaks and is never actually seen in the game; the player sees "through his eyes" for the entire length of the game. ''Half-Life'' has no [[Level (video games)|levels]]; it instead divides the game into chapters, whose titles briefly appear on screen as the player progresses through the game. With the exception of short loading pauses, progression throughout the game is continuous, with each map directly connecting to the next, with the exception of levels involving [[teleportation]].<ref name="game guide">{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Joe Grant |title=Half-Life : Prima's Official Strategy Guide |date=November 25, 1998 |publisher=[[Prima Games]] |isbn=0-7615-1360-4}}</ref>

[[File:Halflife ingame.jpg|thumb|right|An in-game screenshot of the player battling [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]], an [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 attack helicopter]], and a [[gun turret]] in the chapter "Surface Tension"]]

The game regularly integrates puzzles, such as navigating a maze of conveyor belts or using nearby boxes to build a small staircase to the next area the player must travel to. Some puzzles involve using the environment to kill an enemy, like turning a valve to spray hot steam at their enemies. There are few [[Boss (video gaming)|bosses]] in the conventional sense, where the player defeats a superior opponent by direct confrontation. Instead, such organisms occasionally define chapters, and the player is generally expected to use the terrain, rather than firepower, to kill the boss. Late in the game, the player receives a "long jump module" for the [[HEV suit]], which allows the player to increase the horizontal distance and speed of jumps by crouching before jumping. The player must rely on this ability to navigate various platformer-style [[jumping puzzles]] in [[Half-Life (series)#Setting|Xen]] toward the end of the game.<ref name="game guide" />

The player battles alone for the majority of the game, but is occasionally assisted by [[non-player character]]s; specifically security guards and scientists who help the player. The guards will fight alongside the player, and both guards and scientists can assist in reaching new areas and pass on relevant plot information. An array of alien enemies populate the game, including headcrabs, bullsquids, vortigaunts, and headcrab zombies. The player also faces hostile human soldiers and [[Black operation|Black Ops]] assassins. ''Half-Life'' includes online multiplayer support for both individual and team-based [[Deathmatch (video games)|deathmatch]] modes.<ref name="IGNrev">{{Cite web |date=November 26, 1998 |title=Half-Life Review |first1=Jason|last1=Bates|url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/153/153107p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126130226/http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/153/153107p1.html |archive-date=November 26, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |website=IGN}}</ref> It was one of the first mainstream games to use the [[WASD keys]] as the default control scheme.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wylde |first1=Tyler |date=June 24, 2016 |title=How WASD became the standard PC control scheme |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/ |access-date=June 9, 2023 |website=PC Gamer |archive-date=July 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704050033/https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Plot ==
At the underground [[Black Mesa Research Facility]], physicist [[Gordon Freeman]] participates in an experiment on a crystal of unknown origin. This triggers a [[resonance cascade]], which causes widespread damage and teleports in hostile alien creatures. Venturing to the surface, Freeman discovers government soldiers have been dispatched to [[cover-up|cover up]] the incident by killing humans and aliens alike. He is instructed by a scientist to make his way to the Lambda Complex to stop the alien invasion. 

Freeman kills a giant creature inside a rocket engine test facility. He uses an underground monorail to reach a rocket silo, where he launches a satellite to help the Lambda team. Freeman is captured by soldiers and left for dead inside a trash compactor. Escaping through a [[waste treatment]] complex, he discovers a laboratory filled with alien specimens, collected long before the resonance cascade.

Overpowered by the aliens, the soldiers begin to withdraw. Freeman fights across a military base to reach the Lambda Complex, where he discovers secret teleportation technology. There, scientists inform him that a powerful alien creature is preventing them from closing the portal. They teleport him to the alien dimension of [[Half-Life (series)#Setting|Xen]] to kill it.

Freeman encounters dead scientists who teleported there before him. He kills a large alien, the Gonarch, and finds a factory that manufactures alien soldiers. Finally, he discovers the Nihilanth's lair and kills it. Freeman is detained by the [[Characters of the Half-Life series#G-Man|G-Man]], a mysterious interdimensional agent who claims his "employers" wish to hire him. If he accepts, Freeman is placed into [[Stasis (fiction)|stasis]]; if not, he is teleported to his death. 

== Development ==
{{quote box| quote = ''Half-Life'' in many ways was a reactionary response to the trivialization of the experience of the first-person genre. Many of us had fallen in love with video games because of the [[Phenomenology (psychology)|phenomenological]] possibilities of the field and felt like the industry was reducing the experiences to least common denominators rather than exploring those possibilities. Our hope was that building worlds and characters would be more compelling than building shooting galleries.
| source = —Valve president [[Gabe Newell]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tufnell |first=Nicholas |date=November 25, 2011 |title=Interview: Gabe Newell |url=http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/story_type/site_trail_story/interview-gabe-newell/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126125407/http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/story_type/site_trail_story/interview-gabe-newell/ |archive-date=November 26, 2011 |access-date=November 26, 2011 |website=The Cambridge Student Online}}</ref>| align = right| width = 20%| salign = right}}

[[Valve Corporation|Valve]], based in [[Kirkland, Washington]], was founded in 1996 by the former [[Microsoft]] employees [[Gabe Newell]] and [[Mike Harrington]].<ref name="fhhalflife2">{{Cite web |title=Final Hours of Half-Life: The Microsoft Millionaires |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520110111/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part2.html |archive-date=May 20, 2012 |access-date=September 12, 2006 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> For their first product, Valve settled on a concept for a horror first-person shooter (FPS) game.<ref name="flhalflife22">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: The id visit |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part22.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223141855/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part22.html |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |access-date=September 12, 2006 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> They did not want to build their own [[game engine]], as this would have created too much work for a small team and Newell planned to innovate in different areas.<ref name="flhalflife22" /> Instead, Valve licensed the [[Quake engine|''Quake'' engine]] and the [[Quake II engine|''Quake II'' engine]] from [[id Software]] and combined them with their own code.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2001 |title=Half Life: Interview With Gabe Newell |url=http://extra.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/features/halflife_uk/02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010723160349/http://extra.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/features/halflife_uk/02.html |archive-date=July 23, 2001 |access-date=November 3, 2021 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="flhalflife22" /> Newell estimated that around 75% of the final engine code was by Valve.<ref name=":2" /> As the project expanded, Valve cancelled development of a fantasy role-playing game, ''Prospero'', and the ''Prospero'' team joined the ''Half-Life'' project.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2003 |title=Marc Laidlaw On Story And Narrative |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/marc-laidlaw-on-story-and-narrative |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=[[Gamasutra]] |language=en |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107113004/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131227/marc_laidlaw_on_story_and_narrative.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Half-Life'' was inspired by the FPS games ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' (1993) and ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' (1996),<ref name="raisebar">{{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=David |title=Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar |publisher=Prima Games |year=2004 |isbn=0-7615-4364-3}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=9, 11}} [[Stephen King]]'s 1980 novella ''[[The Mist (novella)|The Mist]]'', and a 1963 episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' titled "[[The Borderland]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=David |title=Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar |publisher=Prima Games |year=2004 |isbn=0-7615-4364-3 |pages=11, 37}}</ref> According to the designer Harry Teasley, ''Doom'' was a major influence and the team wanted ''Half-Life'' to "scare you like ''Doom'' did". The project had the working title ''Quiver'', after the Arrowhead military base from ''The Mist''.<ref name="fhhalflife3">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: The Valve Difference |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224220138/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part3.html |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2006 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> The name ''Half-Life'' was chosen because it was evocative of the theme, not clichéd, and had a corresponding visual symbol: the [[Greek alphabet|Greek letter]] λ (lower-case [[lambda]]), which represents the ''decay constant'' in the [[half-life]] equation.<ref name="raisebar" />{{Rp|page=31}} According to the designer Brett Johnson, the level design was inspired by environments in the [[manga]] series ''[[Akira (manga)|Akira]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 29, 2018 |title=Half-Life tiene varias referencias a Akira |language=es |work=[[:es:MeriStation|MeriStation]] |publisher=[[Diario AS]] |url=https://as.com/meristation/2018/08/29/noticias/1535543681_545901.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014010144/https://as.com/meristation/2018/08/29/noticias/1535543681_545901.html |archive-date=October 14, 2018}}</ref>

Valve struggled to find a publisher, as many believed the game was too ambitious for a first-time developer. [[Sierra On-Line]] signed Valve for a one-game deal as it was interested in making a 3D action game, especially one based on the ''Quake'' engine.<ref name="flhalflife24">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: The Right E-mail, the Right Time |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part24.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224220100/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part24.html |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2006 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> Sierra gave Valve an advance of around  $1 million in exchange for 30% of the revenue and 100% of the [[intellectual property]]; the rest of development was funded by Newell and Harrington.<ref name="Pastis-2024a2">{{Cite web |last=Pastis |first=Stephe |date=2024-12-06 |title=How Valve founder Gabe Newell turned ''Half-Life'' into a nearly $10 billion fortune |url=https://www.forbes.com.au/covers/magazine/how-valve-founder-gabe-newell-turned-half-life-into-a-nearly-10-billion-fortune/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=[[Forbes Australia]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Valve first showed ''Half-Life'' in early 1997; it was a success at [[E3]] that year, where Valve demonstrated the animation and [[Artificial intelligence in video games|artificial intelligence]].<ref name="flhalflife34">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: The Public Debut |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part34.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308234131/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part34.html |archive-date=March 8, 2010 |access-date=September 14, 2006 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> Novel features of the artificial intelligence included fear and pack behavior.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1997 |title=NG Alphas: Half Life |url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_32/page/n107 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=32 |pages=106–7}}</ref>

Valve aimed for a November 1997 release to compete with ''[[Quake II]]''.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra">{{Cite web |last=Birdwell |first=Ken |date=December 10, 1999 |title=The Cabal: Valve's Design Process For Creating Half-Life |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131815/the_cabal_valves_design_process_.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116140435/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131815/the_cabal_valves_design_process_.php |archive-date=November 16, 2016 |access-date=February 14, 2017 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref><ref name="fhhalflife4">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: Reassembling the Pieces |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part4.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928033502/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part4.html |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2006 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> By September 1997, the team found that while they had built some innovative aspects in weapons, enemies, and level design, the game was not fun and there was little design cohesion.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> Playtesting produced "lukewarm" responses.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Lincoln |date=2024-09-13 |title='There's an alternate universe where Half-Life disappeared after release': Valve's first marketing strategist Monica Harrington says she helped navigate its way out of early disaster |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/theres-an-alternate-universe-where-half-life-disappeared-after-release-valves-first-marketing-strategist-monica-harrington-says-she-helped-navigate-its-way-out-of-early-disaster/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |work=[[PC Gamer]] |language=en}}</ref> Sierra would not agree to extra funding, so Newell took out a loan to fund additional development to rework the game.<ref name=":5" />

Valve took a novel approach of assigning a small team to build a prototype level containing every element in the game and then spent a month iterating on the level.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> When the rest of the team played the level, which the designer Ken Birdwell described as "''[[Die Hard]]'' meets ''[[Evil Dead]]''", they agreed to use it as a baseline.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> The team developed three theories about what made the level fun. First, it had several interesting things happen in it, all triggered by the player rather than a timer so that the player would set the pace of the level. Second, the level responded to any player action, even for something as simple as adding graphic decals to wall textures to show a bullet impact. Finally, the level warned the player of imminent danger to allow them to avoid it, rather than killing the player with no warning.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" />

To move forward with this unified design, Valve sought a game designer but found no one suitable. Instead, Valve created the "cabal", initially a group of six individuals from across all departments that worked primarily for six months straight in six-hour meetings four days a week. The cabal was responsible for all elements of design, including level layouts, key events, enemy designs, narrative, and the introduction of gameplay elements relative to the story.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> The collaboration proved successful, and once the cabal had come to decisions on types of gameplay elements that would be needed, mini-cabals from other departments most affected by the choice were formed to implement these elements. Membership in the main cabal rotated since the required commitment created [[Occupational burnout|burnout]].<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" />

The cabal produced a 200-page [[game design document|design document]] detailing nearly every aspect of the game. They also produced a 30-page document for the narrative, and hired the science fiction novelist [[Marc Laidlaw]] to help manage the script.<ref name="fhhalflife3" /><ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> Laidlaw said his contribution was to add "old storytelling tricks" to the team's ambitious designs: "I was in awe of [the team]. It felt to me like I was just borrowing from old standards while they were the ones doing something truly new."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2017 |title=Marc Laidlaw (Valve) - Interview |url=https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/marc-laidlaw/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012165926/https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/marc-laidlaw/ |archive-date=October 12, 2019 |access-date=November 23, 2019 |website=Arcade Attack |language=en-GB}}</ref> Rather than dictate narrative elements "from some kind of ivory tower of authorial inspiration", he worked with the team to improvise ideas, and was inspired by their experiments.<ref name=":1" /> For example, he conceived the opening train ride after an engineer implemented train code for another concept.<ref name=":1" />

Valve initially planned to use traditional [[cutscene]]s, but switched to a continuous first-person perspective for lack of time. Laidlaw said they discovered unexpected advantages in this approach, as it created a sense of immersion and enforced a sense of loneliness in a frightening environment.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Peel |first=Jeremy |date=March 1, 2023 |title='The narrative had to be baked into the corridors': Marc Laidlaw on writing ''Half-Life'' |language=en |work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-narrative-had-to-be-baked-into-the-corridors-marc-laidlaw-on-writing-half-life |access-date=March 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302232014/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-narrative-had-to-be-baked-into-the-corridors-marc-laidlaw-on-writing-half-life |archive-date=March 2, 2023}}</ref> Laidlaw felt that non-player characters were unnecessary to guide players if the design had sufficiently strong "visual grammar", and that this allowed the characters to "feel like characters instead of signposts".<ref name=":02" /> An early version of ''Half-Life'' began immediately after the disaster, with the environments already wrecked. Laidlaw worked with Johnson to create versions of the lab environment before the disaster to help set the story. He said: "These were all economical ways of doing storytelling with the architecture — which was my whole obsession. The narrative had to be baked into the corridors."<ref name=":02" />

Within a month of the cabal's formation, the other team members started detailed game development, and within another month began [[playtesting]] through Sierra. The cabal was intimately involved with playtesting, monitoring the player but otherwise not interacting. They noted any confusion or inability to solve a game's puzzles and made them into [[action item]]s to be fixed on the next iteration. Later, with most of the main adjustments made, the team included means to benchmark players' actions. They then collected and interpreted statistically to fine-tune levels further.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" /> Between the cabal and playtesting, Valve identified and removed parts that proved unenjoyable. Birdwell said that while there were struggles at first, the cabal approach was critical for ''Half-Life''{{'}}s success, and was reused for ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' from the start.<ref name="birdwell gamasutra" />

Much of the detail of ''Half-Life''{{'s}} development has been lost. According to Valve employee Erik Johnson, two or three months before release, their [[Visual SourceSafe]] source control system "exploded". Logs of technical changes from before the final month of development were lost, and code had to be recovered from individual computers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wawro |first=Alex |date=February 13, 2017 |title=Valve explains why we'll never see the full history of Half-Life's development |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/291408/Valve_explains_why_well_never_see_the_full_history_of_HalfLifes_development.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214102632/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/291408/Valve_explains_why_well_never_see_the_full_history_of_HalfLifes_development.php |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |access-date=February 13, 2017 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref> The revised version of ''Half-Life'' shown at E3 1998 was received the [[Game Critics Awards]] for "Best PC Game" and "Best Action Game".<ref name="fhhalflife4" />

== Release ==
To promote ''Half-Life'', Valve's chief marketing officer, Monica Harrington, promoted Valve's reputation in the industry, with conference talks about their advances in game development, leading to coverage in the ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name=":5" />  

''Half-Life'' was released on November 19, 1998.<ref name="fhhalflife5">{{Cite web |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life: Reassembling the Pieces |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part5.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225022620/http://uk.gamespot.com/features/halflife_final/part5.html |archive-date=February 25, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2006 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> When Sierra told Valve it was not planning to promote it beyond launch, Monica Harrington threatened that Valve would "walk away from our agreement and tell the industry that had fallen in love with Valve how screwed up Sierra really was". In response, Sierra reissued ''Half-Life'' in a "Game of the Year" edition, boosting sales.<ref name=":5" /> In 2001, after renegotiating with Sierra, Valve gained the ''Half-Life'' intellectual property and online distribution rights for its games.<ref name=":5" />

Valve released two ''Half-Life'' [[game demo|demos]]. The first, ''Half-Life: Day One'', contained the first fifth of the game and was distributed with certain graphic cards. The second, ''Half-Life: Uplink'', was released on February 12, 1999, and featured original content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Valve Archive – Half-Life: Uplink Demo |url=https://valvearchive.com/half-life/uplink/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716214828/http://valvearchive.com/half-life/uplink/ |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=March 19, 2019 |website=valvearchive.com}}</ref> A short film based on ''Half-Life,'' also titled ''Half-Life: Uplink'', was developed by Cruise Control, a British marketing agency, and released on February 11, 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 11, 1999 |title=Half Life Demo is Here! |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/12/half-life-demo-is-here |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124004018/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/12/half-life-demo-is-here |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |access-date=November 23, 2018 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> The protagonist is a journalist who infiltrates the Black Mesa Research Facility, trying to discover what has happened there.<ref>{{Citation |last=Combine OverWiki |title=Half-Life: Uplink (1999 short film) |date=January 2, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7TVE4mUVg |access-date=March 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108010757/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7TVE4mUVg |url-status=live |archive-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>

''Half-Life'' was censored in Germany to comply with the [[Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons]], which regulates depictions of violence against humans. Valve replaced the human characters with robots, spilling oil and gears instead of blood and body parts when killed, among other changes. In 2017, ''Half-Life'' was removed from the German censorship list. To acknowledge this, Valve released ''Half-Life Uncensored'', a free [[downloadable content]] pack, that reverts the censorship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Allegra |date=May 4, 2017 |title=Half-Life goes uncensored in Germany, two decades after original release |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/4/15543420/half-life-german-version-uncensored |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322210806/https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/4/15543420/half-life-german-version-uncensored |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |access-date=March 22, 2019 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref>

=== Ports ===
{{See also|Unreleased Half-Life games#Dreamcast port}}Valve canceled a version of ''Half-Life'' for [[MacOS|Mac]], developed by Logicware, in 2000. Newell said the port was substandard and would have made Mac players "second-class customers".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ajami |first=Amer |date=April 27, 2000 |title=Mac ''Half-Life'' canceled |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mac-half-life-canceled/1100-2448672/ |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=[[GameSpot]] |language=en-US |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204144617/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mac-half-life-canceled/1100-2448672/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Rebecca Heineman]], the co-founder of Logicware, denied this, saying that Valve cancelled the port as [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] had angered them by misrepresenting sales projections. She said the port was complete and three weeks from release.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPTLPXNtb2I&ab_channel=RMC-TheCave |title=Rebecca Heineman - Developer & Co-Founder of Interplay {{!}} Retro Tea Break |date=February 2, 2023 |time=1:36:41 |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204152955/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPTLPXNtb2I&ab_channel=RMC-TheCave |url-status=live }}</ref> Valve released ports for [[Mac OS X|OS X]] and [[Linux]] in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ingraham |first=Nathan |date=January 25, 2013 |title=Original ''Half-Life'' finally available for OS X through Steam nearly 15 years after its release |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/25/3915338/original-half-life-finally-available-for-os-x-through-steam |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=[[The Verge]] |language=en-US |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204144617/https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/25/3915338/original-half-life-finally-available-for-os-x-through-steam |url-status=live }}</ref>

Captivation Digital Laboratories and [[Gearbox Software]] developed a [[Porting|port]] of ''Half-Life'' for the [[Dreamcast]], with new character models and textures and an exclusive expansion, ''[[Half-Life: Blue Shift|Blue Shift]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stahl |first=Ben |date=September 5, 2000 |title=ECTS ''Half-Life'' Dreamcast Hands-On |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ectshalf-life-dreamcast-hands-on/1100-2624258/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095128/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ectshalf-life-dreamcast-hands-on/1100-2624258/ |archive-date=September 21, 2017 |access-date=October 26, 2008 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> Following the cancellations of several third-party Dreamcast games in the wake of [[Sega]]'s decision to discontinue the console in March 2001, Sierra cancelled the port weeks before its scheduled release in June, citing "changing marketing conditions".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chau |first=Anthony |date=June 18, 2001 |title=Not Given Half A Chance: The Cancellation of Half-Life |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/18/not-given-half-a-chance-the-cancellation-of-half-life |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804093350/http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/18/not-given-half-a-chance-the-cancellation-of-half-life |archive-date=August 4, 2016 |access-date=July 18, 2016 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Satterfield |first=Shane |date=July 31, 2001 |title=Half-Life for the Dreamcast officially cancelled |work=[[GameSpot]] |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-for-the-dreamcast-officially-cancelled/1100-2776155/ |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716065645/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-for-the-dreamcast-officially-cancelled/1100-2776155/ |archive-date=July 16, 2021}}</ref> ''Blue Shift'' was ported to Windows.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2001 |title=Ready to Jump Back into the Black Mesa Research Facility? |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/03/30/ready-to-jump-back-into-the-black-mesa-research-facility |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820095527/http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/03/30/ready-to-jump-back-into-the-black-mesa-research-facility |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |access-date=July 18, 2016 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> The Dreamcast port became the basis of the ''Half-Life'' port for PlayStation 2, released in late 2001. This version added competitive play and a co-op expansion, ''[[Half-Life: Decay]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 2000 |title=Sierra Delivers ''Half-Life'' to PlayStation 2 |url=http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/087/087979p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215010054/http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/087/087979p1.html |archive-date=February 15, 2012 |access-date=November 10, 2019 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref>''

=== Source Engine version ===
In 2004, Valve released ''Half-Life: Source'', a remastered version of ''Half-Life'' ported to their new game engine, [[Source (game engine)|Source]]. It includes few new graphical elements, but does add new [[ragdoll physics]], advanced water effects, and [[5.1 surround sound]]. It received negative reviews for its many glitches and lack of significant graphical improvements.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Tom |date=November 19, 2004 |title=Half-Life: Source |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/19/half-life-source |access-date=February 13, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401153955/https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/19/half-life-source |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the release of the ''Half-Life'' 25th anniversary update in 2023, ''Half-Life: Source'' was delisted from [[Steam (service)|Steam]] and does not appear in its search results.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bevan |first=Rhiannon |date=2023-11-18 |title=Valve Finally Unlists Buggy Half-Life: Source |url=https://www.thegamer.com/half-life-source-unlisted-from-steam-buggy-cant-find/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref> 

=== Remake ===
''[[Black Mesa (video game)|Black Mesa]]'', a third-party remake of ''Half-Life'' developed by [[Crowbar Collective]] on the [[Source (game engine)|Source]] engine, was published as a free mod in September 2012 and later approved by Valve for a commercial standalone release.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Senior, Tom |date=September 3, 2012 |title=Black Mesa Source release date revealed, high-res headcrabs due in 11 days |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/03/black-mesa-source-release-date-revealed-high-res-headcrabs-due-in-11-days/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[PC Gamer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922020144/http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/03/black-mesa-source-release-date-revealed-high-res-headcrabs-due-in-11-days/ |archive-date=September 22, 2012 |access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cobbett, Richard |date=September 14, 2012 |title=Black Mesa Source released – download it now! |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/14/black-mesa-source-finally-released-download-it-now/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[PC Gamer]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925011202/http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/14/black-mesa-source-finally-released-download-it-now/ |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref>

===25th-anniversary update===
{{external media|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ3HzvFEto 25th anniversary documentary on ''Half-Life'' by Valve]}}
In November 2023, for the 25th anniversary of ''Half-Life'', Valve updated the Steam version to revert content to its original 1998 state, fix long-standing bugs, and add content including the ''Half-Life: Uplink'' demo, four new multiplayer maps, [[Steam Deck]] support, rendering improvements, and support for [[4K resolution]] monitors.<ref>{{cite web |last=Koselke |first=Anna |date=November 17, 2023 |title=Half-Life gets massive update for 25th anniversary, new maps and more |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/half-life/update-anniversary |accessdate=November 17, 2023 |work=[[PCGamesN]] |archive-date=November 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117200338/https://www.pcgamesn.com/half-life/update-anniversary |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/70/view/6941797379568863069 |title=Half-Life 25th Anniversary Update |website=Steam |date=November 17, 2023 |access-date=2023-11-29 |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201175638/http://store.steampowered.com/news/app/70/view/6941797379568863069 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/how-valve-finally-fixed-a-half-life-bug-thats-almost-as-old-as-the-game-itself |title=How Valve Finally Fixed a Half-Life Bug That's Almost as Old as the Game Itself |website=IGN |date=November 24, 2023 |access-date=2023-11-29 |archive-date=November 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129032752/https://www.ign.com/articles/how-valve-finally-fixed-a-half-life-bug-thats-almost-as-old-as-the-game-itself |url-status=live }}</ref> Valve also released an hour-long documentary on the creation of ''Half-Life'', featuring commentary from the original developers, designers and artists.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Lane |first=Rick |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Half-Life's 25th anniversary celebrations have caused a resonance cascade in its Steam player-count, surging to a new all-time high over the weekend |language=en |work=[[PC Gamer]] |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/half-lifes-25th-anniversary-celebrations-have-caused-a-resonance-cascade-in-its-steam-player-count-surging-to-a-new-all-time-high-over-the-weekend/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120130309/https://www.pcgamer.com/half-lifes-25th-anniversary-celebrations-have-caused-a-resonance-cascade-in-its-steam-player-count-surging-to-a-new-all-time-high-over-the-weekend/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Two days after the release, ''Half-Life'' reached 33,471 concurrent players on Steam, its highest-ever number.<ref name=":4" />

== Mods ==
''Half-Life'' received support from independent game developers, supported and encouraged by Valve. With the game, Valve included [[Valve Hammer Editor|Worldcraft]], the level design tool used during development, and a [[software development kit]], enabling developers to create [[mod (video gaming)|mods]]. Both tools were updated with the release of the [[Software versioning|version]] 1.1.0.0 [[patch (computing)|patch]]. Supporting tools (including texture editors, model editors, and level editors such as the multiple engine editor [[Quake Army Knife|QuArK]]) were either created or updated to work with ''Half-Life''.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

The ''Half-Life'' software development kit served as the development base for many mods, including the Valve-developed ''[[Team Fortress Classic]]'' and ''Deathmatch Classic'' (a remake of ''Quake''{{'}}s multiplayer deathmatch mode in the GoldSrc engine).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Trey |date=June 7, 2001 |title=Valve releases Deathmatch Classic mod for Half-Life |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-releases-deathmatch-classic-mod-for-half-life/1100-2771202/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022201459/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-releases-deathmatch-classic-mod-for-half-life/1100-2771202/ |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> Other mods such as ''Counter-Strike'' and ''[[Day of Defeat]]'' (''DOD'') began life as the work of independent developers who later received aid from Valve. Other multiplayer mods include ''[[Firearms (video game)|Firearms]]'', ''[[Natural Selection (video game)|Natural Selection]]'' and ''[[Sven Co-op]]''. Single-player mods include ''[[USS Darkstar]]'' (1999, a futuristic action-adventure on board a [[zoological]] research spaceship) and ''[[They Hunger]]'' (2000–2001, a [[survival horror]] [[Total conversion (gaming)|total conversion]] trilogy involving zombies).<ref>Coverage of modifications of ''Half-Life'' include:

* For ''Firearms'', see {{cite web |date=April 30, 2000 |title=Half-Life: Firearms Released! |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/article-27305 |access-date=October 28, 2024 |publisher=EuroGamer}}
* For ''Natural Selection'', see {{Cite web |date=2002 |title=GameSpy 2002 Game of the Year Awards |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/goty2002/pc/index15.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050208004604/http://archive.gamespy.com/goty2002/pc/index15.shtml |archive-date=February 8, 2005 |access-date=October 31, 2024 |publisher=GameSpy}}
* For ''Sven Co-op'', see {{cite web |last=Lane |first=Rick |date=March 25, 2016 |title=The People Who Have Spent 17 Years Perfecting Co-op Half-Life |url=https://kotaku.com/the-people-who-have-spent-17-years-perfecting-co-op-hal-1767029543 |website=Kotaku}}
* For ''USS Darkstar'', see {{cite web |title=Black Widow Games: Five Days of Fear (Day 1) |url=http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Previews.Detail&id=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107001442/http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Previews.Detail&id=1 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |website=Planet Half-Life |publisher=GameSpy}}
* For ''They Hunger'', see {{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Talmadge |last2=Boria |first2=Eric |last3=Breidenbach |first3=Paul |date=December 2002 |title=Creative Player Actions in FPS Online Video Games - Playing Counter-Strike |url=https://www.gamestudies.org/0202/wright/ |journal=Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research |volume=2 |issue=2}}</ref>

Some ''Half-Life'' modifications received retail releases. ''Counter-Strike'' was the most successful, having been released in six different editions: as a standalone product (2000), as part of the ''Platinum Pack'' (2000), as an [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] version (2003), and as a single-player spin-off, ''[[Counter-Strike: Condition Zero]]'' (2004), as well as in two versions using the Source engine. ''Team Fortress Classic'', ''Day of Defeat'', ''[[Gunman Chronicles]]'' (2000, a futuristic [[Western (genre)|Western movie]]-style [[Total conversion (gaming)|total conversion]] with emphasis on its single-player mode) and ''Sven Co-op'' were also released as standalone products. ''Half-Life'' is also the subject of the [[YouTube]] [[Improvisational theatre|improv]] [[Role-playing|roleplaying]] series ''[[Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware]]'' and ''[[Freeman's Mind]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=April 19, 2020 |title=How's It Going?: HL:VR But The AI Is Self-Aware Edition |url=https://kotaku.com/hows-it-going-hl-vr-but-the-ai-is-self-aware-edition-1842937799 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427222407/https://kotaku.com/hows-it-going-hl-vr-but-the-ai-is-self-aware-edition-1842937799 |archive-date=April 27, 2020 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |website=Kotaku |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 16, 2020 |title=In Half-Life's improv scene, anyone can speak for Gordon Freeman |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/04/from-fps-to-improv-stage-half-life-as-the-new-community-theater/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419130837/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/04/from-fps-to-improv-stage-half-life-as-the-new-community-theater/ |archive-date=April 19, 2020 |access-date=April 28, 2020 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Livingston |first=Christopher |date=April 2, 2017 |title=YouTube comedy series Freeman's Mind arrives in Half-Life 2 |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/youtube-comedy-series-freemans-mind-arrives-in-half-life-2/ |url-status=live |magazine=PC Gamer |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119150755/http://www.pcgamer.com/youtube-comedy-series-freemans-mind-arrives-in-half-life-2/ |archive-date=January 19, 2018 |access-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref>

In 2003, Valve's network was infiltrated by hackers. Among the stolen files was the unreleased ''Half-Life'' mod ''Half-Life: Threewave'', a canceled remake of the ''Quake'' mod ''[[Malice (video game mod)|Threewave CTF]]''. The files were found by fans on a Vietnamese [[File transfer protocol|FTP server]] in February 2016 and unofficially distributed that September.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=September 21, 2016 |title=The unreleased Half-Life multiplayer mod that you can play now |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/09/the-unreleased-half-life-multiplayer-mod-that-you-can-play-now/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922000920/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/09/the-unreleased-half-life-multiplayer-mod-that-you-can-play-now/ |archive-date=September 22, 2016}}</ref>

== Reception ==
=== Critical reception ===
{{Video game reviews
| MC = 96/100 (PC)<ref name="MCPC">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life for PC |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/half-life/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202142328/http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/half-life |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |publisher=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref><br />87/100 (PS2)<ref name="MCPS2">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life for PlayStation 2 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/half-life/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203182742/http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/half-life |archive-date=December 3, 2011 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |publisher=Metacritic}}</ref>
| Allgame = 5/5<ref name="Allgame">{{Cite web |last=House, Michael L. |year=2014 |title=Half-Life |url=http://allgame.com/game.php?id=14496&tab=review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114175221/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14496&tab=review |archive-date=November 14, 2014 |website=[[Allgame]]}}</ref>
| CGW = 5/5<ref name="cgw" />
| GameFan = 100/100 (PC)<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Big Bubba |title=Half-Life Review |url=http://www.gamefan.com/repre.asp?g=848&t=r |url-status=dead |magazine=[[GameFan]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000618122852/http://www.gamefan.com/repre.asp?g=848&t=r |archive-date=June 18, 2000 |access-date=May 16, 2021}}</ref>
| GSpot = 9.4/10<ref name="Gamespotrev" />
| IGN = 9.5/10<ref name="IGNrev" />
| NGen = 5/5 (PC)<ref name="NG50" /><br />3/5 (PS2)<ref name="NGv4n12" />
}}

On the review aggregation website [[Metacritic]], ''Half-Life'' has a score of 96 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". ''[[Computer Gaming World]]''{{'}}s [[Jeff Green (writer)|Jeff Green]] said it was "not just one of the best games of the year. It's one of the best games of any year, an instant classic that is miles better than any of its immediate competition, and – in its single-player form – is the best shooter since the original ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]].''"<ref name="cgw">{{Cite magazine |last=Green |first=Jeff |date=February 1, 1999 |title=Half-Life |url=http://www.gamespot.com/action/halflif/review_cgw.html |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020209221334/http://www.gamespot.com/action/halflif/review_cgw.html |archive-date=February 9, 2002 |access-date=April 14, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' wrote: "It is fast paced, it is dramatic, and it brings the very idea of adventure on a PC out of the dark ages and into a 3D world. All that and not a single Orc in sight."<ref name="NG50">{{Cite magazine |date=February 1999 |title=Finals |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]] |issue=50 |pages=94–95}}</ref> ''[[IGN]]'' described it as "a tour de force in game design, the definitive single player game in a first-person shooter".<ref name="IGNrev" /> ''[[GameSpot]]'' said it was the "closest thing to a revolutionary step the genre has ever taken".<ref name="Gamespotrev">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life Review |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-review/1900-2537398/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031232543/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-review/1900-2537398/ |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |website=GameSpot}}</ref>

Several reviewers cited the level of immersion and interactivity as revolutionary.<ref name="Allgame" /> ''[[AllGame]]'' said, "It isn't everyday that you come across a game that totally revolutionizes an entire genre, but Half-Life has done just that."<ref name="Allgame" /> ''Hot Games'' commented on the realism, and how the environment "all adds up to a totally immersive gaming experience that makes everything else look quite shoddy in comparison".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life review |url=http://pc.hotgames.com/games/halfli/review.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030201114816/http://pc.hotgames.com/games/halfli/review.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2003 |access-date=March 30, 2008 |publisher=Hot Games}}</ref> ''Gamers Depot'' wrote that it was the most immersive game they had played.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life review |url=http://www.gamers-depot.com/games/rev-game-half-life.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308103126/http://www.gamers-depot.com/games/rev-game-half-life.htm |archive-date=March 8, 2005 |access-date=March 30, 2008 |publisher=Gamers Depot}}</ref>

The final portion of the game, taking place in the alien world of Xen, was generally considered the weakest. Besides introducing a wholly new and alien setting, it also featured a number of low-gravity jumping puzzles. The GoldSrc engine did not provide as much precise control for the player during jumping, making these jumps difficult and often with Freeman falling into a void and the player restarting the game.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hollerman |first=Patrick |title=Reverse Design |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-0429834400 |chapter=The Platform Theme}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=November 19, 2018 |title=Half-Life's hated Xen levels look great in Black Mesa remake |url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/19/18102824/half-life-mod-black-mesa-xen-trailer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223234147/https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/19/18102824/half-life-mod-black-mesa-xen-trailer |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |access-date=February 23, 2020 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''{{'s}} Julie Muncy called the Xen sequence "an abbreviated, unpleasant stop on an alien world with bad platforming and a boss fight against what appeared, by all accounts, to be a giant floating infant".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Muncy |first=Julie |date=March 5, 2020 |title=Black Mesa, a Half-Life Fan Fantasy, Finally Comes to Life |url=https://www.wired.com/story/black-mesa-half-life/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305193127/https://www.wired.com/story/black-mesa-half-life/ |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2020}}</ref> ''[[The Electric Playground]]'' said that ''Half-Life'' was an "immersive and engaging entertainment experience" in its first half and that it "peaked too soon".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life |url=http://www.elecplay.com/reviews_article.php?article=204 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910123915/http://www.elecplay.com/reviews_article.php?article=204 |archive-date=September 10, 2007 |access-date=March 30, 2008 |publisher=[[The Electric Playground]]}}</ref>

During the [[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences|AIAS]]' [[2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards]], ''Half-Life'' was awarded "Computer Entertainment Title of the Year" and "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Action Game of the Year|PC Action Game of the Year]]"; it also received nominations for "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year|Game of the Year]]" and outstanding achievement in "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction|Art/Graphics]]", "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Story|Character or Story Development]]", "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Design|Interactive Design]]", and "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement|Software Engineering]]".<ref name="GOTY1999">{{Cite web |title=Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Game of the Year |url=http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_titleofyear.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991104011602/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_titleofyear.html |archive-date=November 4, 1999 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences }}</ref><ref name="Computer1999">{{Cite web |title=Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Computer |url=http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991104003923/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html |archive-date=November 4, 1999 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=Interactive.org |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences}}</ref><ref name="Craft1999">{{Cite web |title=Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Craft Award |url=http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_craft.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991103220401/http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_craft.html |archive-date=November 3, 1999 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences }}</ref>

Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PlayStation 2 version for ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'', rating it three out of five, and wrote that "it may be getting old, but there's still a surprising amount of life in ''Half-Life''".<ref name="NGv4n12">{{Cite magazine |last=Lundrigan |first=Jeff |date=December 2001 |title=Finals |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]] |volume=4 |issue=12 |page=105}}</ref> The PlayStation 2 version was a nominee for ''[[EP Daily|The Electric Playground]]''{{'}}s 2001 Blister Awards for "Best Console Shooter Game", but lost to ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' for [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]].<ref name="blister2001">{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=January 25, 2002 |title=Blister Awards 2001 |url=http://www.elecplay.com/feature.html?id=8152&page=5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030713062025/http://www.elecplay.com/feature.html?id=8152&page=5 |archive-date=July 13, 2003 |website=[[EP Daily|The Electric Playground]]}}</ref>

In 1999, 2001, and 2005, ''[[PC Gamer]]'' named ''Half-Life'' the best PC game of all time.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 1999 |title=The 50 Best Games Ever |magazine=PC Gamer USA |page=119 |issue=66}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=October 2001 |title=50 Best Games of All Time |magazine=PC Gamer USA |page=73 |issue=89}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 2005 |title=The 50 Best Games of All Time |magazine=PC Gamer USA |page=57 |volume=12 |issue=135}}</ref> In 2004, ''[[GameSpy]]'' readers voted ''Half-Life'' the best game of all time.<ref name="Gamespyrev">{{Cite web |title=Gamespy Title Fight! – Championship Final |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/titlefight/matches/0601.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523065248/http://archive.gamespy.com/titlefight/matches/0601.shtml |archive-date=May 23, 2010 |access-date=February 22, 2008 |website=[[GameSpy]]}}</ref> ''[[Gamasutra]]'' gave it their Quantum Leap Award in the FPS category in 2006.<ref name="gamasutra">{{Cite web |title=The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: First-Person Shooters |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060901/quantum_01.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511073515/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130249/the_gamasutra_quantum_leap_awards_.php?print=1 |archive-date=May 11, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2006 |website=Gamasutra}}</ref> [[GameSpot]] inducted ''Half-Life'' into their Greatest Games of All Time list in May 2007.<ref name="gamespotfame">{{Cite web |last=Rorie |first=Matthew |date=May 18, 2007 |title=Greatest Games of All Time: Half-Life |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/greatest-games-of-all-time-half-life/1100-6171044/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119235122/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/greatest-games-of-all-time-half-life/1100-6171044/ |archive-date=January 19, 2015 |access-date=March 31, 2016 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> In 2007, ''IGN'' described ''Half-Life'' as one of the most influential video games,<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2007 |title=Top 10 Most Influential Games |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/12/11/igns-top-10-most-influential-games?page=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131702/http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/12/11/igns-top-10-most-influential-games?page=2 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |access-date=January 6, 2008 |website=IGN}}</ref> and in 2013 wrote that the history of the FPS genre "breaks down pretty cleanly into pre-''Half-Life'' and post-''Half-Life'' eras".<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2013 |title=Half-Life – #1 Top Shooters |url=http://ign.com/top/shooters/1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228203738/http://www.ign.com/top/shooters/1 |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |access-date=February 23, 2014 |website=IGN.com}}</ref> In 2021, the ''[[the Guardian|Guardian]]'' ranked ''Half-Life'' the third-greatest game of the 1990s, writing that it "helped write the rulebook for how games tell their stories without resorting to aping the conventions of film".<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2021 |title=The 15 greatest video games of the 1990s – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/jun/23/the-15-greatest-video-games-of-the-1990s-ranked |access-date=June 23, 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623111353/https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/jun/23/the-15-greatest-video-games-of-the-1990s-ranked |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Sales ===
According to Newell, ''Half-Life'' was budgeted with the expectation of lifetime sales of around 180,000 copies.<ref name="bizjournals1" /> However, it was a surprise hit.<ref name="bizjournals1" /> In the United States, ''Half-Life'' debuted at #8 on [[PC Data]]'s weekly PC game sales chart for the November 15–21 period, with an average retail price (ARP) of $49.<ref name="nov1521">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Robert |date=December 9, 1998 |title=''Deer Hunter II'' Returns to the Throne |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/013/pc_data_112198.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406152939/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/013/pc_data_112198.html |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> It rose to sixth place the following week,<ref name="nextweek">{{Cite web |date=December 9, 1998 |title=PC Data Best Sellers |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/98_12/09_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000614043550/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_12/09_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=June 14, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> before dropping to position 10 for the week ending December 5.<ref name="thirdweek">{{Cite web |date=December 15, 1998 |title=Tiny Plastic Woman Beats on ''Half-Life'' |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/98_12/15_pc_chart/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000621170836/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_12/15_pc_chart/index.html |archive-date=June 21, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> During the December 6–12 period, the game climbed back to sixth place; by this time, its ARP had dropped to $36.<ref name="fourthweek">{{Cite web |date=December 22, 1998 |title=Barbie Holds PC Charts |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/98_12/22_pc_data/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000606230100/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_12/22_pc_data/index.html |archive-date=June 6, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> It placed between sixth and eighth on PC Data's weekly charts through the end of December,<ref name="fifthweek">{{Cite web |last=Fudge |first=James |date=January 8, 1999 |title=''Deer Hunter 2 3D'' Tops Charts |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/133/pc_data_121398.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407232432/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/133/pc_data_121398.html |archive-date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref><ref name="sixthweek">{{Cite web |date=January 8, 1999 |title=''Deer Hunters'' Still on Top |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_01/08_pc_data/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000311205341/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_01/08_pc_data/index.html |archive-date=March 11, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="seventhweek">{{Cite web |last=Mullen |first=Micheal |date=January 12, 1999 |title=''Brood War'' Tops PC Data List |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_01/12_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000229134100/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_01/12_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=February 29, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> and its ARP rose back to $45 by the week ending January 2.<ref name="seventhweek" /> PC Data declared ''Half-Life'' November's sixth-best-selling PC game in the United States,<ref name="nov1998">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Robert |date=December 13, 1998 |title=November Belongs to ''Deer Hunter 2 3D'' |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/025/pc_data_november.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406162520/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/025/pc_data_november.html |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |access-date=July 2, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> a position it held for the month of December.<ref name="dec1998">{{Cite web |last=Ocampo |first=Jason |date=January 15, 1999 |title=''Deer Hunter II'' Tops Charts |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/162/pc_data_december.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502210227/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/162/pc_data_december.html |archive-date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> While its US sales were below 100,000 copies by November 30,<ref name="stormy">{{Cite news |last=Biederman |first=Christine |date=January 14, 1999 |title=Stormy weather |work=[[Dallas Observer]] |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-01-14/news/stormy-weather/all/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003002653/http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-01-14/news/stormy-weather/all/ |archive-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> by 1999 it had sold 212,173 copies and earned revenues of $8.6 million in the United States by the end of 1998.<ref name="pcgsales2">{{Cite journal |date=April 1999 |title=The Numbers Game |journal=[[PC Gamer US]] |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=50}}</ref>

In January 1999, ''Half-Life'' debuted at #3 on [[Chart-Track]]'s PC game sales rankings for the United Kingdom,<ref name="pczonechart3">{{Cite journal |last=McNicholas |first=Conor |date=February 1999 |title=Charts; The ChartTrack Top 10 |journal=[[PC Zone]] |issue=73 |page=30}}</ref> and remained in PC Data's weekly top 10 for the entire month, peaking at #4.<ref name="eighthweek">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=January 19, 1999 |title=''StarCraft: Brood Wars'' Tops Charts, ''Baldur's Gate'' Close Behind |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/016/180/pc_data_010399.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406153004/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/016/180/pc_data_010399.html |archive-date=April 6, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref><ref name="ninthweek">{{Cite web |date=January 27, 1999 |title=''Brood Wars'' Rules the Week's Charts |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_01/27_pc_pcweek/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000308200651/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_01/27_pc_pcweek/index.html |archive-date=March 8, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="tenthweek">{{Cite web |date=February 2, 1999 |title=Baldur's Gate in the Lead |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_02/02_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000226140236/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_02/02_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=February 26, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="11thweek">{{Cite web |date=February 9, 1999 |title=''SimCity 3000'': Top Seller |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_02/09_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000308051520/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_02/09_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=March 8, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="12thweek">{{Cite web |date=February 18, 1999 |title=''SimCity 3000'' On Top |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_02/18_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000229020727/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_02/18_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=February 29, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> By January 19, after two full months of availability, global sales of ''Half-Life'' surpassed 500,000 units.<ref name="bizjournals1">{{Cite web |last=Baker, M. Sharon |date=February 26, 1999 |title=A Charmed ''Half-Life'' |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/1999/03/01/smallb1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030219095208/https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/1999/03/01/smallb1.html |archive-date=February 19, 2003 |website=[[Puget Sound Business Journal]]}}</ref> In the United States, it was the fifth-best-selling PC game for the month of January.<ref name="jan1999">{{Cite web |last=Mullen, Micheal |date=February 16, 1999 |title=January's Top Sellers |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_02/16_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000607002432/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_02/16_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=June 7, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> On PC Data's weekly charts, it rose to #2 from February 7–20, with an ARP of $35.<ref name="13thweek">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=February 23, 1999 |title=''Sim City 3000'' Hangs Tough at Top Spot |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/018/011/pc_data_020799.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407232438/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/018/011/pc_data_020799.html |archive-date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref><ref name="14th15th">{{Cite web |date=March 10, 1999 |title=''SimCity'' Packs 'Em In |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_03/10_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001119001100/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_03/10_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=November 19, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> Holding a position in the weekly top 10 for the rest of February,<ref name="14th15th" /><ref name="16thweek">{{Cite web |date=March 16, 1999 |title=''SimCity 3000'' Still Top Seller |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_03/16_pc_stats/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000303021228/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_03/16_pc_stats/index.html |archive-date=March 3, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> it climbed to fourth for the month.<ref name="feb1999">{{Cite web |date=March 15, 1999 |title=''Sim City 3000'' Takes February |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_03/15_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991108210548/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_03/15_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=November 8, 1999 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> The game remained in PC Data's weekly top 10 until the week of March 21<ref name="17thweek">{{Cite web |date=March 25, 1999 |title=''SimCity'' Still Number 1 |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_03/25_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000603050228/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_03/25_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=June 3, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="18thweek">{{Cite web |date=April 5, 1999 |title=SimCity'' Beats Back ''EverQuest |url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/99_04/05_pc_pcdata/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000619151850/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_04/05_pc_pcdata/index.html |archive-date=June 19, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> and dropped to position 11 for March as a whole.<ref name="mar1999">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=April 16, 1999 |title=EA Tops Charts |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/019/039/pc_data_march99.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407232621/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/019/039/pc_data_march99.html |archive-date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, it placed second in February—behind the debut of ''[[Baldur's Gate (video game)|Baldur's Gate]]''—and fifth in March.<ref name="pczonechart4">{{Cite journal |last=Shoemaker, Richie |date=March 1999 |title=Charts; The ChartTrack Top 10 |journal=[[PC Zone]] |issue=74 |page=74}}</ref><ref name="pczonechart5">{{Cite journal |last=Shoemaker, Richie |date=May 1999 |title=Charts; The ChartTrack Top 10 |journal=[[PC Zone]] |issue=76 |page=26}}</ref> In April, it claimed #3 on Chart-Track's rankings and dropped to #16 on those of PC Data.<ref name="pczonechart5" /><ref name="april1999">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=May 17, 1999 |title=''Civilization: Call To Power'' tops April chart |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/020/019/pc_data_april99.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502210048/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/020/019/pc_data_april99.html |archive-date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> On April 23, Sierra announced that global sales of ''Half-Life'' had reached almost 1 million copies.<ref name="near1">{{Cite press release |title=Sierra Studios to Deliver Best-Selling ''Half-Life'' to the Mac |date=April 23, 1999 |publisher=[[Sierra On-Line]] |location=Bellevue, Washington |url=http://www.sierrastudios.com:80/games/half-life/pressroom/macintosh.html |access-date=July 22, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009051045/http://www.sierrastudios.com/games/half-life/pressroom/macintosh.html |archive-date=October 9, 1999}}</ref>

After maintaining the 16th place for May in the US,<ref name="cdmagsales1">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=June 15, 1999 |title=''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' Tops Monthly Chart |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/020/132/pc_data_may1999.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502210101/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/020/132/pc_data_may1999.html |archive-date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=May 8, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> ''Half-Life'' exited PC Data's monthly top 20 in June.<ref name="cdmagsales2">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=July 20, 1999 |title=''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' Tops Monthly Chart |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/021/104/pc_data_june1999.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407232755/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/021/104/pc_data_june1999.html |archive-date=April 7, 2005 |access-date=May 8, 2018 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> ''Half-Life'' became the fifth-bestselling PC game of the first half of 1999 in the US.<ref name="1999half">{{Cite web |last=IGN Staff |date=August 3, 1999 |title=And the Winners Are ... |url=http://pc.ign.com:80/news/9273.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000305180633/http://pc.ign.com/news/9273.html |archive-date=March 5, 2000 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> Its domestic sales during 1999 reached 290,000 copies by the end of September.<ref name="pcxlsales">{{Cite journal |date=February 2000 |title=X-Tra; Death of the PC |journal=[[PC Accelerator]] |issue=18 |pages=100, 101}}</ref> During 1999, it was the fifth-best-selling PC game in the US, with sales of 445,123 copies. These sales brought in revenues of $16.6 million, the sixth-highest gross that year for a PC game in the US.<ref name="cgmnews4">{{Cite web |last=Fudge, James |date=January 19, 2000 |title=PC Data Top Selling PC Games for 1999 |url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/025/147/pc_data_1999.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817183027/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/025/147/pc_data_1999.html |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |website=[[Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games Strategy Plus]]}}</ref> The following year, it was the 16th-bestselling PC game in the US, selling another 286,593 copies and earning $8.98 million.<ref name="pcgsales3">{{Cite journal |date=April 2000 |title=Shake Your Money-Maker |journal=[[PC Gamer US]] |volume=7 |issue=4 |page=32}}</ref>

The PlayStation 2 version received a "Silver" sales award from the [[Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association]] (ELSPA),<ref name="silverelspa">{{Cite web |title=ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver |url=http://www.elspa.com:80/?i=3942 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221154943/http://www.elspa.com/?i=3942 |archive-date=February 21, 2009 |website=[[Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association]]}}</ref> indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.<ref name="gamasutrasales">{{Cite web |last=Caoili, Eric |date=November 26, 2008 |title=ELSPA: ''Wii Fit'', ''Mario Kart'' Reach Diamond Status In UK |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112220/ELSPA_Wii_Fit_Mario_Kart_Reach_Diamond_Status_In_UK.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918063107/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112220/ELSPA_Wii_Fit_Mario_Kart_Reach_Diamond_Status_In_UK.php |archive-date=September 18, 2017 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref> ''Half-Life''{{'}}s global sales reached 2.5 million units by July 2001.<ref name="cgwsales2">{{Cite magazine |last=Price, Tom |date=July 2001 |title=Army of One |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |issue=204 |pages=50–55}}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' noted in 2003 that "a significant number of the 7.5m copies of the PC version were bought because the game offered such potential for community-driven expansion".<ref name="edge2003">{{Cite magazine |date=June 2003 |title=Prescreen focus: ''Half-Life 2'' |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |issue=124 |pages=48–53}}</ref> As of November 16, 2004, eight million copies of the game had been sold,<ref name="halflifesales">{{Cite news |last=Mike Musgrove |date=November 16, 2004 |title=Half-Life 2's Real Battle |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52849-2004Nov15.html?nav=rss_technology |url-status=live |access-date=February 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025083004/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52849-2004Nov15.html?nav=rss_technology |archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> by 2008, 9.3 million copies had been sold at retail.<ref name="lifetimeretail">{{Cite web |last=Remo, Chris |author-link=Chris Remo |date=December 3, 2008 |title=Analysis: Valve's Lifetime Retail Sales For ''Half-Life'', ''Counter-Strike'' Franchises |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21319 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221100835/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21319 |archive-date=December 21, 2008 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref> ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' awarded ''Half-Life'' the world record for Best-Selling First-Person Shooter of All Time (PC) in the ''Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Half-Life electronic game |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Half-Life-electronic-game |publisher=Brittanica}}</ref>

== Expansions and sequels ==
''Half-Life'' was followed by an [[expansion pack]], ''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force|Opposing Force]]'', on November 1, 1999,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life: Opposing Force |url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/50/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120050959/http://store.steampowered.com/app/50 |archive-date=November 20, 2008 |access-date=November 19, 2008 |website=[[Steam (service)|Steam]] |publisher=[[Valve Corporation|Valve]]}}</ref> developed by [[Gearbox Software]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=April 15, 1999 |title=''Half-Life'' Expands |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/067/067720p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109050607/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/04/16/half-life-expands |archive-date=November 9, 2012 |access-date=November 18, 2008 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> Players control Hazardous Environment Combat Unit (HECU) Corporal [[Adrian Shephard]], who fights a new group of aliens called [[Race X]] and Black Ops units after being split from his team.<ref name=":3" /> Gearbox developed a second expansion pack, ''[[Half-Life: Blue Shift|Blue Shift]]'', in which players control [[Barney Calhoun]], a security guard at Black Mesa, as he attempts to escape the facility. It was developed as a bonus campaign for the Dreamcast port of ''Half-Life,''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirchgasler |first=Chris |date=July 24, 2000 |title=''Half-Life'' Preview |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-preview/1100-2606931/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826154009/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-preview/1100-2606931/ |archive-date=August 26, 2017 |access-date=March 31, 2016 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> but was released for Windows on June 12, 2001, after the port was canceled.<ref name="Satterfield">{{Cite web |last=Satterfield |first=Shane |date=June 16, 2001 |title=''Half-Life'' for the Dreamcast officially cancelled |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-for-the-dreamcast-officially-cancelled/1100-2776155/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916025446/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-for-the-dreamcast-officially-cancelled/1100-2776155/ |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |access-date=October 26, 2008 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="release">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life: Blue Shift |url=http://pc.ign.com/objects/016/016257.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613054330/http://pc.ign.com/objects/016/016257.html |archive-date=June 13, 2011 |access-date=October 26, 2008 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> Gearbox created a [[Cooperative video game|cooperative]] multiplayer expansion pack, ''[[Half-Life: Decay|Decay]],'' exclusively for the [[PlayStation 2]] port of ''Half-Life'' which is played through the perspectives of Gina Cross and Colette Green, two Black Mesa scientists.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radcliffe |first=Doug |date=October 15, 2001 |title=''Half-Life'' for PlayStation 2 Review |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-review/1900-2824623/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123021523/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-review/1900-2824623/ |archive-date=November 23, 2014 |access-date=October 23, 2008 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref>

''[[Half-Life 2]]'' was announced at [[E3 2003]] and released in 2004. The player controls Freeman 20 years after the Black Mesa incident in the dystopian [[City 17]], where he joins a rebellion against an alien regime. It was followed by the [[Episodic video game|episodic]] sequels ''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One]]'' (2006) and ''[[Half-Life 2: Episode Two]]'' (2007).<ref name="ep2.ep3.confirmation">{{Cite web |last=Thorsen |first=Tor |date=May 24, 2006 |title=Half-Life 2: Episode One gold, Two dated, Three announced |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-episode-one-gold-two-dated-three-announced/1100-6151796/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125150657/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-episode-one-gold-two-dated-three-announced/1100-6151796/ |archive-date=November 25, 2013 |access-date=April 27, 2007 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> After [[Unreleased Half-Life games|cancelling several other ''Half-Life'' projects]], Valve released ''[[Half-Life: Alyx]]'' in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=November 21, 2019 |title=Half-Life: Alyx is officially coming March 2020, and here's your first look |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/21/20975423/half-life-alyx-vr-price-release-date-screenshots-trailer-valve-steam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121185303/https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/21/20975423/half-life-alyx-vr-price-release-date-screenshots-trailer-valve-steam |archive-date=November 21, 2019 |access-date=November 24, 2019 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite magazine |last=Whitley |first=Peter |date=April 1999 |title=Black mesa boogie |magazine=[[The Duelist (magazine)|The Duelist]] |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |issue=36 |page=83}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.half-life.com/en/halflife}}

{{Half-Life}}
{{Valve}}
{{Subject bar|1990s|Horror|Science fiction|Video games|d=yes|q=Half-Life#Half-Life_(1998)|auto=yes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1998 video games]]
[[Category:Video games about alien invasions]]
[[Category:Apocalyptic video games]]
[[Category:Cancelled classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Cancelled Dreamcast games]]
[[Category:Censored video games]]
[[Category:Fiction about physics]]
[[Category:Fiction about teleportation]]
[[Category:First-person shooters]]
[[Category:Gearbox Software games]]
[[Category:GoldSrc games]]
[[Category:Half-Life (series) games|1]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer online games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]
[[Category:Science fiction video games]]
[[Category:Sierra Entertainment games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Valve Corporation games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Kelly Bailey]]
[[Category:Video games set in laboratories]]
[[Category:Video games set in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Windows games]]