Half-Life System Requirements | Can My PC Run It?

update Catalogue updated: November 19, 1998

Requirements status: Verified. Published PC requirements reviewed against the cited source

memory

Quick Hardware Summary

Half-Life requires at least 500 MHz processor CPU, 16 MB video card GPU, and 96 MB RAM. For recommended settings, aim for 800 MHz processor CPU and 32 MB or higher video card GPU.

Half-Life game cover

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About Half-Life

Half-Life is the original game in the series. Being a revolutionary at the time, we follow the story of Gordon Freeman - a silent scientist at the facility called Black Mesa. Arriving late at work and hastily doing his routine he runs into the experiment field. However, the experiment goes completely wrong and opens a portal to a completely different dimension called Xen. The laboratory is destroyed as well as the facility itself, as unknown creatures like Vortigaunts are now everywhere in the facility. Gordon must battle his way to the surface and find a way to close the portal.

One of the main features of Half-Life was story-telling through scripted sequences within the actual gameplay. Without having cutscenes, the game was able to tell the full story of the game by showing scripted deaths, dialogues, character appearance while the gameplay was moving one. By not ripping off the player from the process, the game feels much more smooth as it continues. Despite his science nature, Gordon is masterfully using his weapons and destroys any enemy at his path with rifles, grenades, shotguns and much more.

Game features and tags

Singleplayer · Atmospheric · Story Rich · First-Person · Sci-fi · Great Soundtrack · Difficult · Multiplayer · FPS · Linear · Funny · 1990's · Aliens · Moddable · Retro

Additional requirement details

Minimum requirement notes

Mouse, keyboard and internet connection.


Score 96
Released November 19, 1998
Genres
Platforms
LinuxmacOSPCDreamcastPlayStation 2

Half-Life System Requirements

Minimum

OS:
Windows XP
CPU:
500 MHz processor
GPU:
16 MB video card
RAM:
96 MB
Storage Required:
Not verified

Recommended

OS:
Windows XP
CPU:
800 MHz processor
GPU:
32 MB or higher video card
RAM:
128 MB

Requirements source and version

Original Half-Life, Steam app 70 — historical Windows requirements

Official Steam store listing

Manually transcribed from the original app 70 store table. Generic processor/graphics descriptions are not mapped to invented model names. Storage is not published in this table and stays unknown. These historical game OS requirements do not establish support for the current Steam client. Source checked: October 19, 2026.

Minimum — Additional Notes: Mouse, keyboard and internet connection.

Recommended — Additional Notes: Mouse, keyboard and internet connection.

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