The First Half-Life Receives Long-Awaited Ray Tracing Mod

Half-Life serves as an icon among most players who have played the game. Owing to its popularity, the game received a teaser for a ray tracing mod by a prominent name in the community. Now, a year after the teaser, Half-Life just got a functional ray tracing mod.

In order to get this mod, you’ll need to go over to the Half-Life 1: Ray Traced GitHub page and download the necessary files. You’ll find clear instructions given on the page to make the installation process easier as it involves merging the game’s local files with the mod data.

This mod comes from Sultim Tsyrendashiev, who’s also worked on a ray tracing mod for Quake 1, Serious Sam TFE, and Doom Classic. Considering how impressive Tsyrendashiev’s previous works have been, players must have surely been looking forward to this upgrade.

Half-Life itself has a hefty background. Being the first game ever made by Valve, the title was released in 1998 to critical and commercial success. Something that we can still see as players often hope for a Half-Life 3. 

Valve, as a company, has transitioned from its origin as a game developer to now being a service-focused entity for the most part. With the release of 2020’s VR game, Half-Life: Alyx, the company does feel like making more single-player experiences.

This also ties into the fan-made VR mod for Half-Life 2 that was approved by Valve last year. It’s clear how the community still holds the series in high regard even after over two decades.

While Gabe Newell has avoided answering questions regarding the future of Half-Life, in particular, the company’s willingness to develop more single-player experiences and hardware shows great things in its future.