Half-Life games in order

There are two ways to line up the Half-Life series, and they do not match. Release order is how the games actually came out, starting with the 1998 original and ending with Half-Life: Alyx in 2020. Chronological order is how the story flows, and it puts Alyx right in the middle. This guide covers both, tells you where each expansion sits, and is honest about the game that still is not here. If you are new to the whole thing, start with what Half-Life actually is, then come back for the running order.

Half-Life games in release order

This is the order Valve and its partners shipped the games. It is the simplest way to play if you want to watch the series grow up in real time.

1. Half-Life (1998). The one that started everything. You play Gordon Freeman, a physicist who survives a lab accident at the Black Mesa Research Facility and has to fight his way out.
2. Half-Life: Opposing Force (1999). An expansion built by Gearbox Software. You play Adrian Shephard, a soldier sent in to clean up Black Mesa, so you see the same disaster from the other side.
3. Half-Life: Blue Shift (2001). Another Gearbox expansion. This time you are Barney Calhoun, a security guard, running through the same facility during the same incident.
4. Half-Life 2 (2004). A huge leap forward on Valve's new Source engine. Gordon wakes up years later in City 17 under alien occupation and joins the resistance.
5. Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006). A shorter follow-up that picks up right after Half-Life 2 ends.
6. Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007). The last mainline entry for well over a decade. It ends on a cliffhanger that fans are still waiting to see resolved.
7. Half-Life: Alyx (2020). A full-length VR game. You play Alyx Vance, and it is the newest Half-Life anyone has been able to buy.

There are other titles people count, like the standalone deathmatch spin-offs, but the seven above are the core single-player experience.

Half-Life games in chronological order

The story does not run in the same order the games released. Here is how the events actually line up.

1. Half-Life (1998). The Black Mesa incident. Everything else spins out from this day.
2. Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift. Both take place during and just after the same incident, viewed through Shephard and Calhoun. You can slot them in either order since they overlap.
3. Half-Life: Alyx (2020). Set roughly five years before Half-Life 2, so despite being the newest release it belongs early in the timeline. It leads directly into the events Gordon wakes up to.
4. Half-Life 2 (2004). Gordon's return, years after Black Mesa, in occupied City 17.
5. Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006). The immediate aftermath of escaping the Citadel.
6. Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007). The road out of City 17, ending on the moment fans still bring up.

The odd thing here is Alyx. Because it is a prequel, playing in chronological order means jumping from a 1998 game straight into a 2020 VR title and then back to a 2004 one. Most people do not recommend that for a first run.

Which order should you actually play?

For a first playthrough, release order is the easy pick. The games teach you their mechanics in the order they were designed, and the story still makes sense. If you have a VR headset, play Alyx whenever you like, but know that it fills in a gap and sets up Episode Two's cliffhanger, so playing it after the Episodes hits harder.

On the Steam discussion boards for the original game, the common advice from longtime fans is to run the mainline titles in release order and treat Opposing Force and Blue Shift as optional side stories you can enjoy any time after the first game. That lines up with what most guides recommend.

One practical note. The original 1998 Half-Life looks its age. Some players jump to Black Mesa, a fan remake that Valve blessed and that is sold on Steam, for a modernized version of the first game. It is not a numbered entry, so it does not change the order, but it is a friendlier way in for new players.

The missing game: Half-Life 3

Episode Two came out in 2007 and ended on a cliffhanger. Episode Three was supposed to close it out. It never came, and neither did a game called Half-Life 3. Valve moved on to other projects, and the wait became a running joke, the famous "Valve can't count to 3."

Half-Life: Alyx in 2020 was the first new Half-Life in 13 years, but it is a prequel, not the sequel fans were waiting for. As of 2026 there is still no confirmed Half-Life 3, though leaks around a project reportedly codenamed HLX keep the hope alive. We dig into that in the Half-Life 3 rumor roundup. For the wider picture of everything Valve has shipped, the full Valve games list has you covered.

FAQ

How many Half-Life games are there? Seven core single-player titles: Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and Half-Life: Alyx. There are also deathmatch spin-offs and the fan remake Black Mesa.

Is Half-Life: Alyx a prequel or a sequel? It is a prequel. Alyx is set about five years before Half-Life 2, even though it released last, in 2020.

Do I need to play Opposing Force and Blue Shift? No. They are optional expansions that retell the Black Mesa incident from other characters' viewpoints. They add depth but are not required to follow the main story.

Where does Half-Life 3 fit in? It does not exist yet. Episode Two ended on a cliffhanger in 2007 and no sequel has been released or officially confirmed.

What order should a first-time player use? Release order is the simplest and still makes narrative sense. Save Alyx for when you have a VR headset, ideally after the Episodes.