Half-Life Beta From 1998 Has Been Discovered (2025)

An old beta build of Half-Life containing some cut content has surfaced online. The leaked version of the game is dated to October 1998, indicating that it predates Half-Life's official release by just a few weeks.

November 19 will mark Half-Life's 26th anniversary. Valve's first-ever game is still widely touted as one of the most seminal first-person shooters in the history of gaming. One of the final things that Valve was working on over the course of its development was PvP multiplayer, which the company was ironing out until the very last moment.

Half-Life Beta Build Containing Cut Level Leaks Online

A testament to these efforts has now emerged online in the form of a Half-Life beta build uncovered by game researcher Frogsnatcher. This pre-release version of the game was found on an old CD dated October 20, 1998, suggesting the build predates the shooter's commercial debut by roughly one month. The disc itself has "net test 2" written on it in a sharpie pen, which indicates that this beta was primarily geared toward ironing out the game's multiplayer features right before Valve hit it big with Half-Life. That notwithstanding, one of the biggest differences between the leaked beta and the finished product has nothing to do with multiplayer, but a cut single-player level called The Communications Center.

The Communications Center was envisioned as the original version of Forget About Freeman, Half-Life's Chapter 13. According to past reports, this map was designed by Valve engineers John Guthrie and Kelly Bailey. Its beta version is mostly static, except for a large radar dish that was scripted to turn. Other levels from the leaked build also have some scripting differences compared to the finished product, though they are largely inconsequential, Frogsnatcher reports.

Leaked Half-Life Beta Build Comes With a Time Bomb

Although Frogsnatcher already shared a dump of the game's 1998 beta disc, playing it is not a straightforward affair. This is largely because the beta comes with some time-bomb code that prevents it from being activated past a certain date. Frogsnatcher said that this was easy enough to side-step by setting their system date to any day during October 1998. According to some other early reports from fans who gave the build a go, the leaked beta can only be run in the Windows ME Compatibility Mode.

Frogsnatcher has also uncovered some unused textures in the net test, with most of them being of the weapon variety. E.g., the beta build's crossbow looks slightly different, on account of having a different bolt-mounting mechanism. The researcher also discovered a static model of Stukabat, a flying alien enemy that was cut from the original Half-Life near the end of the game's development.

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Half-Life

Named Game of the Year by over 50 publications, Valve's debut title blends action and adventure with award-winning technology to create a frighteningly realistic world where players must think to survive. Also includes an exciting multiplayer mode that allows you to play against friends and enemies around the world.

Shooter

Systems

Franchise

Half-Life

Platform(s)

PC , PS2 , Linux , macOS

Released

November 19, 1998

Developer(s)

Valve

Publisher(s)

Sierra Studios

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

Engine

goldsrc, source

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

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