Half-Life Fans, Prepare For The Last Goodbye Tomorrow

4 days ago 9

Character from Half-Life mod The Last Goodbye

Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted.

Half-Life 3 is still a total mystery, but in the meantime, a less official Half-Life project is about to dawn. In an unusual circumstance, a Half-Life mod called The Last Goodbye actually moved its release date forward rather than backward.

Developer Chief Smokey noted on Bluesky that Act One of The Last Goodbye was originally planned to release on February 13, 2026, but successful playtesting and application of polish led to a January 9 launch. This first chapter, called "Into the Night," will thrust players into the criminal underworld in a "Gothic metropolis" called Prava.

The Last Goodbye Is A Promising Half-Life Mod

Looking down a scope at a target in Half-Life mod The Last Goodbye

The Last Goodbye is a total conversion mod that steps outside the world of Half-Life, but this project should still appeal to fans of Gordon Freeman's adventures. Like Half-Life, there's an emphasis on reactive FPS action in an atmospheric, ominous world. It's not overly beholden to Half-Life, though, and the shadowy alleys of its urban setting bring games like Dishonored and Thief to mind in equal measure.

In The Last Goodbye, you play a hired gun called the Banshee, taking on a mission to assassinate a gangster known as Bullseye. The pulpy setup sounds like it should leave plenty of room for players to take their own initiative, and the 2025 roundup trailer on Chief Smokey's YouTube channel highlights a nice array of creative opportunities. After positive playtest results, everything is shaping up for an undeniably exciting release.

The Future Of Half-Life Is Bright

Of course, there will still be a bit of a wait for the other chapters of The Last Goodbye, but it shouldn't be anything like the nearly two-decade absence of a third Half-Life 2 episode. As of the last update, the team behind The Last Goodbye suggested that all three acts would release in 2026, which means we could easily get the complete experience before Valve even announces another Half-Life game.

At any rate, a lot of people are excited about the project. The Last Goodbye took second place in the Players' Choice ModDB vote for the best upcoming mods last month, losing only to a massive Lord of the Rings overhaul for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord.

If you're looking for other Half-Life projects beyond The Last Goodbye, you're in luck, as the list also includes three more mods for the original game and two Half-Life 2 conversions. Valve may be slow to develop Half-Life projects, but the passionate communities for the games are a lot more active.