The Game Census
Black Mesa cover art

Black Mesa

Crowbar Collective · 2020-03-06

Steam

ActionAdventureIndie

Franchise: Half-Life · Modes: Single player, Multiplayer

Releases: Sep 14, 2012 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Oct 28, 2016 (Linux)

Relive Half-Life.

569
playing now
95%
positive of 144k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
12
twitch viewers (latest)
88/100
critic score (3 outlets, IGDB)
88/100
IGDB user rating (549 ratings)
11h
to beat · rushed 9.5h · completionist 60h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$19.99
steam price (US)

569 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 00:00 UTC (census sample)

The plot of Black Mesa is almost identical to Half-Life's storyline, playable through the "Lambda Core" chapter. As in the original game, the player controls Gordon Freeman, a scientist working at the Black Mesa Research Facility. He is tasked to place a sample of a strange material into an electromagnetic instrument, using the Hazardous Environment Suit Mark IV to do so safely. However, the sample material causes a "resonance cascade", devastating the facility and creating an interdimensional rift to an alien dimension called Xen, bringing its alien creatures to Earth. Freeman survives, find(Storyline via IGDB)

Trailer

Black Mesa trailer thumbnail

Black Mesa - 1.0 Gameplay Launch Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 569 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 8,533 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~1,067/week).
  • · Review velocity down 35% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 10,710 Action games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 2.9M–6.5M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 144,484 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $1.99 at Steam (2025-05-12) · bundled 2×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 6 of 12 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
6.3k6.3k20182026Week of 2018-01-01: 399 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 220 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 235 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 191 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 293 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 216 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 221 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 148 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 91 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 930 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 247 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 226 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 221 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 150 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 135 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 1,245 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 1,017 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 258 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 150 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 240 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 1,175 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 3,183 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 2,381 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 60 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 1,236 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 5,925 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 261 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 3,335 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 155 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 1,567 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 1,132 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 1,850 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 101 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 1,037 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 768 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 815 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 6,276 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 135 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 2,330 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 136 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 2,109 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 120 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 1,367 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1,035 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 1,022 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 67 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 1,662 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1,072 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 69 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 2,157 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 134 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 1,420 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 2,201 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 201 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 1,332 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 1,675 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 1,560 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 93 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 1,779 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 137 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 1,065 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 64 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 1,358 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 74 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 1,008 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 781 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 1,516 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 1,762 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 895 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 1,080 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 1,088 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 1,650 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 92 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 1,356 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 99 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 1,509 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 916 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 1,019 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 798 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 2,170 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 174 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 1,335 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 1,490 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 1,034 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 51 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 1,149 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 63 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 1,205 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 86 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 2,021 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 100 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 1,708 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 1,487 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 1,461 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 943 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 1,334 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 158 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 902 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 775 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 51 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 1,255 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 1,168 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 831 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 612 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 1,457 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 105 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 1,589 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 118 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 1,193 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 92 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 761 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 1,093 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 598 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 2,661 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 255 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 1,691 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 151 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 2,545 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 218 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 1,355 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 132 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 826 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 864 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 1,477 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 1,644 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 155 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 1,228 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 83 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 954 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 1,004 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 765 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 687 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 695 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 883 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 82 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 539 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 48 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

8593322026-08-06 21:00 — 606 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 336 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 571 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 651 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 407 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 605 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 725 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 436 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 732 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 754 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 342 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 555 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 632 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 358 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 564 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 577 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 363 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 621 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 843 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 371 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 461 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 689 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 492 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 616 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 758 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 454 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 406 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 689 players2026-08-30 00:00 — 569 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$19.99$1.992015-05-062026-07-092015-05-06 — best price $19.992015-11-25 — best price $9.592016-01-26 — best price $9.992016-06-23 — best price $7.992016-11-23 — best price $7.992017-06-22 — best price $7.992017-11-22 — best price $7.992018-02-15 — best price $7.992018-06-22 — best price $7.992018-11-21 — best price $7.992019-02-04 — best price $7.992019-10-28 — best price $11.992019-12-19 — best price $15.992020-06-25 — best price $12.992020-11-25 — best price $9.992021-02-11 — best price $9.992021-06-24 — best price $7.992021-10-28 — best price $7.992021-12-22 — best price $4.992022-03-21 — best price $9.992022-09-20 — best price $4.992022-11-22 — best price $9.992023-03-16 — best price $9.992023-06-29 — best price $4.992023-09-18 — best price $3.992023-11-21 — best price $3.992024-02-08 — best price $3.992024-06-27 — best price $3.992024-08-24 — best price $4.992024-11-27 — best price $4.992025-02-24 — best price $4.992025-05-12 — best price $1.992025-08-15 — best price $3.992025-11-27 — best price $4.992026-02-12 — best price $3.992026-06-25 — best price $3.992026-07-09 — best price $19.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Twitch viewers

27302026-08-26 19:15 — 4 viewers2026-08-26 21:34 — 15 viewers2026-08-27 01:34 — 8 viewers2026-08-27 04:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-27 07:33 — 2 viewers2026-08-27 10:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-27 13:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-27 16:34 — 22 viewers2026-08-27 19:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-27 23:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-28 02:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-28 05:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-28 08:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-28 11:34 — 0 viewers2026-08-28 14:34 — 7 viewers2026-08-28 17:34 — 11 viewers2026-08-28 20:34 — 28 viewers2026-08-28 23:34 — 10 viewers2026-08-29 02:34 — 91 viewers2026-08-29 05:34 — 273 viewers2026-08-29 08:34 — 97 viewers2026-08-29 11:34 — 18 viewers2026-08-29 14:34 — 18 viewers2026-08-29 17:34 — 49 viewers2026-08-29 21:34 — 51 viewers2026-08-30 00:34 — 21 viewers2026-08-30 03:34 — 12 viewers2026-08-30 06:34 — 6 viewers2026-08-30 09:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-30 12:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 12 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

50
achievements tracked
61.1%
earned "Brownian Motion"
9.6%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsLinuxSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPCross-Platform MultiplayerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsCaptions availableSteam WorkshopSteam Input API Support

29 supported languages: English, German, Spanish - Spain, Finnish, Norwegian, French, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Italian, Czech, Danish, Dutch…

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)79,8424%50

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

FPSActionAliensHorrorRemakeSci-fiClassicShooterZombiesAdventure

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Half-LifeHalf-Life 2Hyper Light DrifterSOMAUnclaimed WorldGET EVENZigguratJudgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation

Similarity via IGDB.

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