Half-Life (1998): runs on Windows 11, Mac, Linux, Steam Deck?

Windows 11✓
Steam Deck✓ Verified
Mac✓ Mac version sold
Linux✓ native

Gamicality score 96 / 100

Playability today ★★★★★ 4.5

Runs today5 / 5
Design today3.5 / 5
See the checks

Steam user reviews Overwhelmingly Positive

148,221 reviews97% positive
Steam store page

Get it on Steam

Released: 1998
Developer: Valve
Genre: Action
Time to beat: About 12 hours for the main story HowLongToBeat
Runs on: Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck
Last checked: October 31, 2026

Does Half-Life run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11	✓Sold for Windows today, no problem on record. Source
Mac (Apple Silicon)	?A Mac version is sold. Not yet confirmed on Apple Silicon. Source
Linux	✓Native Linux version. Source
Steam Deck	✓Verified by Valve. Source

Played it lately? Press Works for me or Doesn’t work on your platform, so the next player knows. One click, no account. How we check where it runs

Synopsis

Half-Life is a first-person shooter in which physicist Gordon Freeman fights his way out of the Black Mesa research facility after an experiment tears open a rift to another world. Alien creatures and then military squads flood the complex, and the whole story unfolds in first person without cutscenes, mixing gunfights with environmental puzzles and jumping sections.

What people say

Critics hailed it in 1998 as a landmark for telling its story through level design and scripted moments rather than cutscenes, and it remains one of the highest-rated PC games ever. Players returning today still praise the opening hours, the soldier AI and the sense of place. The common complaints are the weak, bloated middle act, the fiddly navigation puzzles in chapters such as On a Rail and Lambda Core, and the low-gravity platforming in the alien world Xen, which many find the low point. Several retrospectives also note that the shooting feels thin next to later shooters.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

5 / 5

✓Sold or given away today by an official source
✓Runs on Windows 11 without fan patches
✓All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
Nothing is lost: the Steam version uses Steamworks in place of the closed WON servers (PCGamingWiki).
✓Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
Native widescreen and modern resolutions (PCGamingWiki).
✓Full controller support or remappable controls
Remappable keys (PCGamingWiki).
✓Steam Deck Verified or Playable
✓No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
✓No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
✓No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
PCGamingWiki lists no unresolved issues (PCGamingWiki).

1 check not confirmed yet

Single-player works without an internet connection

From the Steam store, Valve’s Steam Deck rating and the sources under each check. Checks not confirmed yet don’t count.

Design today

3.5 / 5

✓Controls feel natural on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Standard mouse and keyboard shooter controls that feel familiar today; ladders and crouch-jumping are clumsy but the sources raise no broad control complaint. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
✓Menus, text and interface are clear on today's screens
The Steam version runs in widescreen at modern resolutions with a minimal HUD and needs no fixes. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
✓Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
Quicksave and manual saves work anywhere, plus autosaves at each level transition. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
✓It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
Level design guides the player without a guide in most chapters, though the portal maze in Lambda Core disorients many. Source: kotaku.com.
✗Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Retrospectives call the middle act a slog and the ending flat, and On a Rail is a common complaint. Source: kotaku.com, steamcommunity.com.
✗Camera or movement fights the player
Precise first-person jumps, especially the low-gravity platforming in Xen, are the most widely shared frustration. Source: steamcommunity.com, midwoodargus.com.