Half-Life: Alyx System Requirements--Is Your PC VR-Ready?

Half-Life: Alyx, the next game in the Half-Life series, is built specifically for VR. It's been 12 years since we last got a new entry in the franchise in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, so fans are sure to be eager to jump into this VR exclusive, but it also begs the question of hardware requirements. Well, if your PC is VR-ready, you'll likely be set to play the next Half-Life game when it launches next week

Most, if not all, PC-based VR games abide by closely similar required and recommended specs, though Half-Life: Alyx turns things up a bit. Below are the minimum required specs for Half-Life: Alyx.

Half-Life: Alyx Minimum PC Specs

• Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5-7500 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 1060 / AMD RX 580 - 6GB VRAM

Those are noticeably higher than the minimum specs to simply run the Valve Index VR headset, which require a dual-core hyper-threading CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD RX 480. However, if you take Index's recommended specs into consideration, Half-Life: Alyx's requirements don't seem as farfetched. Valve Index recommends a quad-core CPU paired with an Nvidia GTX 1070 or better.

Though Valve Index owners will be able to get Half-Life: Alyx for free when it launches on March 23, 2020, the game will be playable on any SteamVR compatible headset; this includes HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest via PC Link, and Windows Mixed Reality. Finger-tracking will also be featured in the game when using Index controllers, and a number of movement options will be included. For all our coverage on the upcoming Half-Life game, check out our stories below.