Half-Life: Alyx will start preloading on Friday

For folks who've already waited 12 years for a new Half-Life and absolutely, positively will not wait another second longer than necessary, Valve have announced that Half-Life: Alyx will be available for preloading from Friday. You'll need to have pre-ordered it, which usually we wouldn't condone, but loads of folks are getting the game as a pack-in freebie with VR goggles and hell, goggheads already know if they're going to get it. Valve also confirmed the exact time that Alyx will launch on Monday: 10am Pacific (that's 5pm for us in the UK).

Valve slammed all the news in a quiet tweet last night:

Half-Life: Alyx releases March 23rd, 10am Pacific Time. https://t.co/NCOLWqSp3e

Steam pre-load begins this Friday. #HalfLifeAlyx pic.twitter.com/F57tj04tME

You know, I'm almost surprised they didn't sneak in the TF2 Engineer's toolbox there.

The game is set between the events of Half-Life and HL2, before Alyx Vance meets Gordon Freeman but certainly not before she starts causing trouble for the Combine. Valve have shown off some of the VR-only action, including a particularly good shotgun reload animation.

Half-Life: Alyx will cost £46.49/€49.99/$59.99 when it hits Steam on Monday, March 23rd at 10am PDT. It is bundled with with Valve Index (if you could get a kit, what with the shortages exacerbated by Covid-19) and, as announced today, HTC Vive Cosmos Elite gear. Our Katharine has a guide to help get your PC upgraded and ready for Alyx too.