Half-Life 2 mod Half-Life 2: VR launches today on Steam, bringing Oculus Quest 2 to Valve's iconic sci-fi FPS, and giving us all something to do while we wait – and wait, and wait – for any news about Half-Life 3.
Available for free, Half-Life 2: VR will begin as a public beta on September 16, allowing players to experience the Half-Life sequel using any headset that is ed by SteamVR, which includes the Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Valve Index – essentially anything you might find on the list of best VR headsets. A fan-made project, Half-Life 2: VR features motion controls, manual reloading for all weapons, a new weapon selection radial modelled on Half-Life: Alyx, and all environments fully-scaled to enable the VR experience. Though the initial launch is a public beta, the Half-Life 2: VR team plans to add more features and eventually make both Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two VR-enabled in the future.
"Become Gordon Freeman," the team writes, "pick up your crowbar, and immerse yourself in the world of Half-Life 2 like never before. Grab and throw objects with your hands, physically climb ladders and play catch with Dog as if you were really there," adding that you must have a Steam-bought copy of Half-Life 2 in order to use the VR mod.
It's not quite Half-Life 3, but alongside Entropy: Zero 2, which launched as an mind-bending mirrored maze that toys with your memories, Half-Life 2: VR is proof that the Gordon Freeman fanbase is as alive and well as ever.
If you want to know more about the possible future of Half-Life, check out our guide to great FPS games on PC, as we all tap our HEV-suited feet waiting for that dream announcement from Valve.