Nvidia Unveils Half Life 2 RTX Demo Launch Date, Plus More Details, at GDC Event
The 2025 Game Developers Conference witnessed some thrilling announcements by Nvidia, including the official release of Half Life 2 RTX - a visually revamped remake of the 20-year-old Steam classic. This long-awaited reimagining, moving from Open Beta to full release demo on March 18, will be available as a free DLC for those who own the original game.
The transformation of Half Life 2 was made possible thanks to Nvidia's RTX Remix, an open-source platform that enables game modders to remaster older titles. With the help of features like ray tracing, texture analyzing, upscaling, and new additions such as DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation, it's leaving its beta stage today.
RTX Direct Illumination (RTXDI) brings millions of dynamic lights to a game environment without affecting performance or resource constraints. It allows geometry of any shape to emit light, cast shadows, and move freely. The Half Life 2 RTX remake is developed by Orbifold Studios, consisting of four top mod teams from Half Life 2. Significant environments like Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt are included in the game. Grab the demo when it drops by heading over to the Steam product page.
Meanwhile, BlackRock's CEO has issued a warning amid the $1 trillion Bitcoin and crypto price sell-off. Apart from this, Apple surprised us with the iPhone's 18.3.2 update, fixing one bug and adding one frustration. The New York Times also released hints, clues, and answers for Thursday, March 13.
In April 2025, Microsoft is set to preview support for neural shading in its DirectX API. By integrating AI with traditional rendering, it aims to boost frame rates, enhance image quality, and reduce system resource usage. Microsoft's Shawn Hargreaves, Direct3D Dev Manager, had this to say, "Adding Cooperative Vectors support to DirectX and HLSL will advance the future of graphics programming, enabling neural rendering across the gaming industry."
Microsoft is further set to unlock Tensor Cores on NVIDIA RTX for developers to fully leverage RTX Neural Shading for richer, more immersive experiences on Windows. Read more about the DirectX update coming later in 2025 below.
Nvidia has also announced that over 100 games and apps now support its new Deep Learning Super Sampling model - DLSS4. This is an increase from 75 at the announcement of DLSS 4 and its RTX 50-series graphics cards back in January. Nvidia will reveal more information about DLSS4, Half Life 2 RTX, and make further announcements at GDC with Jensen Huang-led keynote on March 18. You can find the keynote on Nvidia's YouTube channel.
- The RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti, two upcoming graphics cards, are expected to support DLSS 4, a feature announced by Nvidia during the GDC in 2025.
- In 2025, Nvidia GDC will provide more details about the release date of the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti, as well as additional information regarding DLSS 4 and the Half Life 2 RTX remake.
- Microsoft's DirectX API will integrate AI with traditional rendering in April 2025, using neural shading for boosted frame rates, enhanced image quality, and reduced system resource usage, according to Shawn Hargreaves, Direct3D Dev Manager. This advancement will enable developers to unlock Tensor Cores on NVIDIA RTX for more immersive gaming experiences on Windows.
