A Half-Life: 2 remaster is apparently coming from a group of fans with Valve’s blessing.
Just below, you can see a tweet from self-professed Valve insider Tyler McVicker on the new project. McVicker claims that Half-Life 2, and subsequent episodes, are being remastered by a team of fans, who have sought out and attained original developer Valve’s blessing for the project. In a follow-up tweet, Vicker claims he’s been able to verify the authenticity of this new project that will remaster Half-Life 2.
According to @SteamDB, the team that brought us Half-Life 2: Update is working on a further update and remaster of HL2 & the Episodes, with Valve’s consent. The Half-Life 2: Remastered Collection is coming soon to Steam.https://t.co/5YTjhpS2udJuly 29, 2021
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If you’re unfamiliar with the Half-Life 2: Update (opens in new tab) that McVicker references in the tweet above, it’s a previous release from the same group of fans. This release overhauled the lighting and bug fixes of the original Half-Life 2 to effectively give it a fresh coat of paint. This project was originally released in 2015, so it’s entirely possible that the forthcoming Half-Life 2 remaster from the same group has been up to six years in the making.
While the project has been unconfirmed by Valve, and we’ve only got the Steam database details to go on right now, it’s a really exciting release with a lot of potential. Going back and playing the original Half-Life 2 right now, for those who never experienced it at the time, isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world to get to grips with. This remaster could make Half-Life 2 more appealing to an entirely new audience.
Right now though, there’s the fantastic Half-Life: Alyx to enjoy (as long as you’ve got a PC VR headset to hand, that is). Earlier this year in March, Half-Life: Alyx project lead Robin Walker revealed that the new VR game marked the end of the series being stuck in “narrative limbo,” a remark that holds endless potential for the series’ return. Here’s hoping Valve has more Half-Life projects in the pipeline, further exploring the adventures of Alyx Vance and Gordon Freeman.
If you’re looking to get further stuck into the world of virtual reality, you can head over to our guide on the best VR games for more.