‘Half-Life 2: Episode 2’ VR Mod Gets Launch Trailer Ahead of April 6th Release

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Following last month’s release of the Half-Life 2: Episode 1 VR mod, the Source VR Mod team is set to release Episode 2 on April 6th. A launch trailer shows how the episode has been fully adapted to be played in VR.

After years of starts and stops on various attempts to turn Half-Life 2 into a fully playable VR game, the Source VR Mod Team released the Half-Life 2 VR Mod to major acclaim last year. Since then the team has followed up with an equally well received VR mod for Episode 1.

Less than a month later, the team is set to release the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 VR Mod on April 6th, including a full set of VR features like hands-on weapons, comfort options, real ladder climbing, and—of course—a crow bar you can actually swing.

The Source VR Mod Team released a launch trailer for the game ahead of release, showing the classic Episode 2 action that players can now relive in VR.

The Half-Life 2: Episode 2 VR Mod is free, but requires that players own the original Episode 2 game in order to play. The mod supports all SteamVR headsets like Index, Vive, and Quest via Oculus Link.

Image courtesy Source VR Mod Teamsou

All three of these Half-Life 2 VR mods are built by volunteers who make up the Source VR Mod Team. If you want to support their current and future work, they accept contributions on their Ko-fi page.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • dogtato

    does this mean I can hold a garden gnome in one hand while driving with the other while dodging an attack helicopter? instead of tossing the gnome in the back seat and hoping it didn’t slide out for at least a couple seconds??

    • ViRGiN

      things you will never be able to do in Alyx, damn

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Damn, really need to upgrade my PC (intel i7 4770k/RTX2060Super) and replace my HTC Vive Pro/wireless with a new wireless headset to fully enjoy these mods.

    • david vincent

      I see plenty of used RTX 3080 at 500€ here. Now how to see if they were used for mining…
      An Amoled wireless headset is more complicated to replace…

      • Andrew Jakobs

        I don’t buy used PC hardware, but I might look into the RXT4070 which will be released this month.
        And you’re right in regard to the oled displays, at the moment there isn’t a wireless oled headset yet, so I might have to just take that hit, although with new updates of the headsets with local dimming on LCD it also is getting a bit better.

        • Pab

          I´d recomend hanging the cables.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Nope, don’t ever want a cable back. Had the kiwipulley system and that was a major improvement over just letting the cable hang. But I bought myself the wireless module for my Vive Pro, and I never want to go back to cable anymore, I’m even sometimes annoyed by the batterycable.

        • david vincent

          I forgot there was the 4070, indeed if you can find one at 600 bucks, it’s the best investment.

  • Mike

    AWESOME ,great job , crazy cool.cheeeeeeers

  • shadow9d9

    I don’t care about 20 year old games in the slightest.

    • ViRGiN

      funny how disliked your comment is.
      i already played half life during community showcases around 2012/2013. back then, it was official valve port. now, after 10 years of valve not giving a fuk, we have a handful of volunteers making game better than alyx compatibible with VR, and everyone is going crazy; not bothering to shed a single tear of criticism against valve huge money milking corporation. PCVR users are fuking dumb.

    • John Grimoldy

      Do you say the same thing about movies or books? Is it just because of its age? I hope you realize the HL franchise was groundbreaking, pushing the entire FPS genre forward immeasurably. Doom and its ilk were lame with only a hint of a storyline.

    • SuperGiantRobot

      Thank you for sharing; the door is behind you.

  • Big thanks to all these amazing modders

  • david vincent

    Today there is also the public beta release of Black Mesa VR mod !

  • ViRGiN

    How to embarrass valve with this one little trick!

    Brace yourselves, valve dickard is definetly coming!

  • Pab

    I know VR is going slow and that we´ll need to wait some years for the really cool stuf.

    So, I just cannot be happier on how PC VR is developing while we wait for it. This IS the way to go for now. So many old great games that are being adapted to VR for great renewed experiences.

    And unbelievebly, they are free or really cheap. I mean, look at Death Space, they charge full price for a remake, and get away with it.

    I´m loving PC gaming.
    My appreciation for all those indie developers that push the limits.

  • XRC

    Excellent news. Classic game series played many times on flat screen.

    Thoroughly enjoyed HL2 VR mod so very much looking forward to chapter 1 and 2 in VR.