Half-Life: Alyx Launch Date Gets Very Specific
Despite our very global world, it's sometimes too easy to take for granted that time isn't the same across the world. When companies announce dates, they often neglect to add additional information like timezones and presume everyone is on the same page as them. Worse, they don't even mention what time something may take place, which is especially true for product launches. Fortunately, Valve is giving everyone detailed information so they can prepare their alarms and the VR headsets, presuming they already have one.
Half-Life: Alyx's March launch hasn't exactly been a secret but now Valve is giving gamers a heads up when it will happen. It's probably also good that they're doing it during the day so that players will have some daylight time to spare to test out their setups, even if they're on the East coast. Come Monday, 23rd March at 10 a.m. Pacific, fans, especially those stuck at home, will finally have the new Half-Life game they've been waiting for.
Half-Life: Alyx releases March 23rd, 10am Pacific Time. https://t.co/NCOLWqSp3e
Steam pre-load begins this Friday. #HalfLifeAlyx pic.twitter.com/F57tj04tME
— Valve (@valvesoftware) March 17, 2020
It's not a lot of time to prepare your rig if you still don't have a VR headset yet. While Valve naturally recommends its own Index for the best experience, the $1,000 VR kit isn't exactly easy to come by these days. The game is also fortunately compatible with many other PC VR systems but going out now to buy one might not be the best idea given everything that's happening around the world.
Set between the first Half-Life and Half-Life 2, Half-Life: Alyx follows Alyx Vance's fight against the alien race only known as the Combine. The game can only be played in virtual reality and promises an experience that is specifically geared towards that technology.
Half-Life fans should also note that Alyx's launch also signals the end of the free gravy of Half-Life games on Steam. Valve released these games for free for a limited time in order to get both old and new players up to speed on the lore behind the franchise.