Half-Life 2 RTX Remix announced: Trailer, DLSS 3, launch date, and more unveiled

Half-Life 2 is getting an RTX Remix makeover, as announced by Nvidia today at Gamescom. The project is currently in progress as the community is developing an enhanced version of the classic shooter. As outlined in a press release, four of the top mod teams for the game have joined forces to create Orbifold Studios, which is working on the RTX Remix remaster.

Other than this, however, Nvidia has been tight-lipped about the exact details of this upcoming game. We don't have a launch date yet. As outlined by the company - work on the remaster has just begun. Thus, it might take quite some time for it to be introduced into the market.

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RTX Remix is powering the Half-Life 2 remaster

The technology powering the visual overhaul of this Valve classic, RTX Remix, allows modders to add the power of ray and path tracing to virtually any video game ever released. This instantly changes the path course of how classics look and play on modern machines powered by Nvidia's latest RTX GPUs.

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Trailer

Watch the trailer for the upcoming Half-Life 2 RTX Remix-enhanced game below:

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DLSS 3 and other technology improvements in Half-Life 2

Improvements in visual fidelity are fueled by multiple technologies. Materials are rebuilt to meet modern standards automatically using Physically Based Rendering (PBR) properties. Add to this, the overall geometry complexity will be improved using Hammer Editor, a proprietary software developed by Valve, the company behind the original Half-Life 2.

To take the visuals to the next level (reflections, shadows, and global illumination), the game will rely on ray tracing fueled by the latest RTX 40 series GPUs. It will likely add support for full path tracing like Portal with RTX. To combat framerate issues, the title will feature DLSS 3 temporal upscaling with RTX Super Resolution and frame generation technologies.

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When will Half-Life 2 RTX Remix launch?

Orbifold Studios has just started working on the RTX-enhanced version of the classic. According to Nvidia, the project will take quite some time in the oven. We aren't expecting the game anytime before the summer of 2024.

The hype around the newly announced Half-Life 2 RTX Remix is at an all-time high. The classic is the third in the lineup of games to be enhanced with the early access technology after Quake 2 and Portal with RTX.

This year, the gaming community has assembled in Cologne, Germany, for the annual gaming trade fair. Team Green has massive announcements for the community, including DLSS 3.5 and further updates to AI-powered NPCs powered by NeMo SteerLM that were showcased earlier this year.