Half-Life: Alyx is due to launch in March 2020; alongside it, Valve plans to release tools for its Source 2 engine which will let community creators build more VR content for the game and beyond.
Modding has long been a major part of Valve and Half-Life, the company has not only explicitly sanctioned modding of its works but over the years has released tools and distribution channels to help players make, find, and play community made content.
Half-Life: Alyx will be no different. Valve today announced that “a set of Source 2 tools for building new levels will be available for the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy.” ‘Hammer’, the studio’s level authoring tool, has been “updated with all of the game’s virtual reality gameplay tools and components.”
Community-made content can be hosted via Steam Workshop, the mod distribution component of the Steam platform.
More of Today’s Half-Life: Alyx News
- ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Trailer Revealed, Release Date Set for March 2020
- First Look: ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Screenshots Are Classic Valve, with a Decade More Detail
- Valve’s Gabe Newell: ‘We’re excited to return to Half-Life, VR has energized the studio’
- ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Will Run on All SteamVR Headsets, be Free for Index Owners
This is a bigger deal than just new weapon or enemy skins; major titles like Counter-Strike, DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, and Day of Defeat, all started their lives as mere mods. With tools available for community modders to try their hand at making new VR content, the potential exists for great ideas to bubble up and spawn significant games.