# Half-Life 2 changelog > Reawakened from stasis in the occupied metropolis of City 17, Gordon Freeman is joined by Alyx Vance as he leads a desperate… - Vendor: Valve - Category: Games - Official site: http://www.half-life.com/halflife2 - Tracked by: What's New (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2) - Harvested from: Steam (app 220) - Entries below: 14 (newest first) What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. ## Releases ### July 23, 2025 Update - Date: 2025-07-23 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/507335122931941414 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-507335122931941414 - Restored speed of the train near the end of Highway 17 to better match the original shipped difficulty. - Fixed missing collision that was allowing NPCs to shoot through some walls in Entanglement. - Fixed issue where Alyx could obstruct the player's path when boarding the teleporter near the end of Entanglement. NOTE: these map updates will not break existing saves but players may need to restart their current chapter if they saved after a progress blocking bug on a previous game version. ### Half-Life 2 - Update - Date: 2025-02-11 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/542223345638178895 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-542223345638178895 An update has been released for Half-Life 2 and the Episodes. - Fixed a Linux client crash on launch. - Localization updates. ### November 26, 2024 Update - Date: 2024-11-26 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/4468229436805742593 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-4468229436805742593 - Enable support to keep music playing during level transitions throughout the base Half-Life 2 campaign (no convar needed). - Added support for displaying an active Workshop campaign name in your Steam friends list. - Added a slider to the settings menu to allow scaling stick sensitivity for gamepads. - Fixed issue with overlapping commentary tracks if a commentary track was playing between level loads. - Fixed issue where gamepad buttons may be permanently stuck pressed after saving the game. - UI fonts updated for better support in Cyrillic languages. - Fixed Thai font rendering on Linux. - Added initial support for Ukranian and Vietnamese. - Various crash fixes when switching between episodes. - Fixed soundscape playback for the Citadel menu background map. - Removed collision from an underwater tube that speed runners enjoy. - Updated localization files. ### November 18, 2024 Update - Date: 2024-11-18 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/6633333780228604087 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-6633333780228604087 - Fixed issue where NPC reactions to the player's flashlight and some incidental dialogue would not play after switching between episodes. - Fixed amount of bloom applied after switching between Episode One and Episode Two. - Fixed the FOV setting not applying until you got the HEV Suit if you started a new game and watched the intro sequence. - Fixed issue where HUD messages for pickups and responses to some console commands would display multiple times after switching between episodes. - Fixed scaling for Aim Assist at very high or very low framerates. - Fixed issue where the gamepad weapon selector UI could be stuck on after relaunching the game with no gamepad connected. - Fixed non-workshop mods displaying their title as "Half-Life 2" on the main menu. - Improved load times when switching between episodes or when adding and removing workshop content. - Workshop - Fixed some mods that were tagged to load as Episode One data but were being loaded as Episode Two mods. - Workshop - Better handling for addons that are corrupt. - Workshop - Fixed support for weapon mods that reskin the Stunstick. NOTE: There is now a public "beta" branch for Half-Life 2 that will periodically receive updates before they go live to all players. ### November 16, 2024 Update - Date: 2024-11-16 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/6633333780228604024 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-6633333780228604024 - Fixed a crash that could occur in some languages when starting a new chapter. - UI - Fixed some weapon icon alignment issues at various resolutions. - Workshop - Fixed campaigns set to expand on Episode One loading some Episode Two content. - Workshop - Always show the My Uploads page, even if not in developer mode. - Workshop - Various UI adjustments and improvements. ### Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update - Date: 2024-11-15 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/6633333780228604001 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-6633333780228604001 **Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old,** and we're using this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the community of players who have been enjoying it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering it) since November 16, 2004. ##### The complete Half-Life 2 We created [a new webpage to showcase all the updates in detail](https://half-life.com/halflife2/20th/), but here's a quick rundown of what's new: - **Episodes One and Two are in the box.** Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one. - **Developers Commentary for Half-Life 2.** While the Episodes have always had commentary tracks, the base game never did... until now. We got the team back to record three and a half hours of new behind-the-scenes commentary for Half-Life 2. - **Integrated Steam Workshop support.** Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu! - **Bug fixes and new graphics options.** Visual pops, missing sprites, and mismatched lighting introduced in updates over the years have been scrubbed away. And we've added some settings to push the visual fidelity of Half-Life 2 farther than was allowed in the original release. ##### Yes, there's even a documentary! Our [Half-Life 25th anniversary documentary](http://half-life.com/halflife25) went so well that we invited [Secret Tape](http://secrettape.video) back to make another one—this time focusing on Half-Life 2. And it's about a lot more than just the making of a game. Running out of money. Getting hacked, and an early version being leaked online. Being sued by our publisher. Trying to build Steam. It's all in there! As supplementary material to go along with the documentary, we've unearthed a handful of old presentations from across Half-Life 2's development. Find videos from E3 2003, E3 2002, and Siggraph 2000 on the [20th Anniversary Update website](https://half-life.com/halflife2/20th#longlost). ##### We're also (Re) Raising the Bar: Nearly two decades since it first went out of print, [Raising the Bar is set to return](https://half-life.com/halflife2/20th#raisingthebar) in 2025 with an expanded second edition—offering a comprehensive look into the creation of the Half-Life 2, along with never-before-seen concept art from Episode One and Episode Two, and ideas and experiments for the third episode that never came to be. To everyone who has played Half-Life 2 over the last twenty years, thank you. **From now through the weekend (until November 18th at 10am Pacific) Half-Life 2 is free to own**, so if you've never played before, grab it now and keep it forever. ##### Bug Fixes and Change Notes ##### New Content - Added 3.5 hours of Developer Commentary by members of the Half-Life 2 team. - Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two are now playable from the Half-Life 2 main menu. - Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been added to the Extras menu. - Added Steam Workshop support. Play entire campaigns or replace weapons, enemies, UI, and more with content created by the community. - Added custom Steam Game Recording gameplay events and phases throughout the game. ##### Rendering and Graphics - Fixed issues causing props or entire maps to be fully bright or fully dark depending on settings. - Added bicubic filtering for lightmaps to produce smoother shadows. It can be enabled by setting Shader Detail to Very High. - Fixed missing grass detail sprites in many maps. - Added settings to enable Classic Effects that were originally in Half-Life 2. These effects can also be enabled using r_classic_blood or r_classic_fire. - Added support for radial fog. - Specular reflectivity has been adjusted throughout Half-Life 2 to better match the original release. - Updated models for the Crossbow and RPG weapons to support ultrawide displ _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/6633333780228604001]_ ### Half-Life 2 Update - Date: 2023-11-17 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/5914976662778213744 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-5914976662778213744 An update has been released for Half-Life 2, Lost Coast, and the Episodes. - Fixed a hang where NPC pathfinding could stall forever - Fixed sprinting when using an external controller ### Half-Life 2: Update - Date: 2023-01-17 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/5131322422027903482 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-5131322422027903482 An update has been released for Half-Life 2 and the Episodes. - Minor code maintenance, no customer-facing changes. ### Half-Life 2 Update - Date: 2022-11-19 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/3446970998521815212 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-3446970998521815212 An update has been released for Half-Life 2, Lost Coast, and the Episodes. - Update to DXVK Version 2.0 ### Half-Life 2 - Update - Date: 2022-04-13 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/3208260558138578143 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-3208260558138578143 An update has been released for Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and Lost Coast. - Updated localization strings and captions ### Half-Life 2 - Update - Date: 2022-02-28 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/3119310025785817142 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-3119310025785817142 An update has been released for Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and Lost Coast. - Fixed corrupted models on OSX - Fixed some controller glyphs in HUD hints ### Half-Life 2 and Episodes - Update - Date: 2022-02-24 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/3119310025771323051 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-3119310025771323051 An update has been released for Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and Lost Coast. - Fixed support for external controllers on Deck - Restored missing Commentary menu items - Fixed some stuttering on level transitions - Added chapter icons for Steam Deck UI ### Half-Life 2 - Update - Date: 2022-02-18 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/3119309392147185825 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-3119309392147185825 An update has been released for Half-Life 2 - UI and Input support for Steam Deck verification. ### Half-Life 2 Updated - Date: 2019-02-22 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/220/view/1772634174806890565 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/half-life-2/releases/steam-1772634174806890565 Half-Life 2 has been updated with a fix for a macOS-only issue. This includes Episode 1, Episode 2, Lost Coast, and Half-Life: Source. Details: - Fixed Steam overlay not working when running Half-Life 2 on macOS 10.11 or above with System Integrity Protection (SIP) enabled.