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Half-Life Alyx Inspired Nearly A Million VR Purchases
The VR hardware market experienced a surge in sales following the release of Half-Life: Alyx, the highly-anticipated return of the venerated video game series. Few names are as revered in the gaming industry as Half-Life. The 1998 original proved the potential for storytelling within the action-packed FPS genre, while the 2004 sequel wrote the book on physics and immersion in gaming. Following a pair of episodic sequels set in the aftermath of Half-Life 2, the franchise inexplicably disappeared without a trace. While the adjacent Portal series carried the torch for a little while, the last true Half-Life game released in 2007, ending with a shocking cliffhanger that many feared would never be resolved.
In a surprise announcement last year, Valve announced Half-Life: Alyx, an interquel set between the events of Half-Life and its sequel. Unlike previous titles in the series, Alyx was a VR exclusive, and could not be played like a regular video game. The decision was met with a mix of praise and scorn, considering the high financial barrier to entry, but the video game community was thrilled at the prospect of a new Half-Life title. Upon release, Half-Life: Alyx was met with near-universal acclaim, though some were wondering if the game would move the needle in terms of VR headset sales, or if it would only appeal to the existing user base.
As reported by PCGamesN, the Steam Hardware Survey indicated that 950,000 new VR headsets were connected to Steam in the wake of Half-Life: Alyx's launch. Nearly one million users purchased a new VR headset just to play Half-Life: Alyx, which is all but confirmed to be a million-seller itself. It helps that Alyx was bundled with Valve's cutting-edge Index VR headset, which was touted as the absolute best way to play the game (though it works with basically any existing PC VR kit).
Virtual reality is here to stay. It's hard to imagine VR will ever truly replace traditional television-based gaming, but, at this point, it would be foolish to dismiss the technology as a passing fad. With titles like Alyx (and Beat Saber and Superhot, among others) pushing VR in bold new directions and selling a significant number of units in the process, it's clear that VR is becoming a key pillar in the gaming landscape.
For the Half-Life series, the question now becomes, what's next? Fans waited over a decade for Alyx, and the conversation has now begun to turn towards the seemingly inevitable Half-Life 3. But will the hypothetical sequel be developed as a VR exclusive like Alyx, or will it try to reach the widest market possible? Unfortunately, Valve is as tight-lipped as ever on the matter. Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: Half-Life has a future, and that future is full of endless possibilities.
