The Game Census
Half-Life: Blue Shift cover art

Half-Life: Blue Shift

Gearbox Software · Valve · 2001-06-01

Steam

Action

Franchise: Half-Life · Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Jul 31, 2013 (Linux), Jun 15, 2001 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Jul 31, 2013 (Mac)

Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations.

Half-Life: Blue Shift is an Action game released in 2001, priced at $4.99, with a Very Positive review sentiment (93% of 21251 reviews) and an estimated 1,000,000 .. 2,000,000 owners.

28
playing now
93%
positive of 21k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
60/100
critic score (1 outlets, IGDB)
73/100
IGDB user rating (386 ratings)
4h
to beat · rushed 3h · completionist 3.5h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$4.99
steam price (US)

28 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 11:00 UTC (census sample)

Half-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for the first-person shooter video game Half-Life (1998). It was developed by Gearbox Software and published by Sierra On-Line. Blue Shift was the second expansion for Half-Life, originally intended as part of a Dreamcast port of Half-Life. Although the Dreamcast port was cancelled, the Windows version was released as a standalone product on June 12, 2001.

Trailer

Half-Life: Blue Shift trailer thumbnail

Half-Life: Guard Duty Trailer (Early Half-Life: Blue Shift trailer)

≈431,354 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 28 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,666 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~208/week).
  • · Review velocity up 23% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 3% of 27,667 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-29

Estimated sales: 850k–1.7M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 21,251 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $0.49 at Steam (2019-06-26)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $4.99 · on sale 3 of 6 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
41041020182026Week of 2018-01-01: 73 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 64 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 160 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 136 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 188 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 175 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 113 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 159 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 223 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 142 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 222 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 113 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 176 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 221 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 273 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 192 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 153 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 314 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 192 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 125 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 213 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 248 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 182 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 154 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 130 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 285 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 295 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 317 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 190 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 234 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 195 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 168 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 160 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 349 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 214 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 205 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 382 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 410 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 324 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 181 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 245 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 208 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 193 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 181 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 253 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 279 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 173 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 126 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 348 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 394 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 288 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 204 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 144 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 163 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 219 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 146 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 149 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 173 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 251 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 251 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 164 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 141 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 247 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 141 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 15 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

82172026-09-15 12:00 — 33 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 44 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 24 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 38 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 56 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 39 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 27 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 51 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 41 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 35 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 43 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 33 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 17 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 63 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 61 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 35 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 65 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 64 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 60 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 82 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 77 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 44 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 28 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
11816Jul 2012Aug 2026Jul 2012 — avg 37 · peak 76Dec 2012 — avg 22 · peak 64May 2013 — avg 17 · peak 40Oct 2013 — avg 31 · peak 112Mar 2014 — avg 26 · peak 58Aug 2014 — avg 27 · peak 56Jan 2015 — avg 45 · peak 102Jun 2015 — avg 45 · peak 115Nov 2015 — avg 33 · peak 96Apr 2016 — avg 28 · peak 57Sep 2016 — avg 29 · peak 57Feb 2017 — avg 34 · peak 72Jul 2017 — avg 59 · peak 131Dec 2017 — avg 48 · peak 115May 2018 — avg 30 · peak 68Oct 2018 — avg 26 · peak 54Mar 2019 — avg 30 · peak 58Aug 2019 — avg 38 · peak 70Jan 2020 — avg 111 · peak 358Jun 2020 — avg 46 · peak 91Nov 2020 — avg 51 · peak 102Apr 2021 — avg 46 · peak 82Sep 2021 — avg 37 · peak 73Feb 2022 — avg 46 · peak 83Jul 2022 — avg 53 · peak 100Dec 2022 — avg 65 · peak 145May 2023 — avg 41 · peak 86Oct 2023 — avg 40 · peak 81Mar 2024 — avg 51 · peak 106Aug 2024 — avg 67 · peak 3,070Jan 2025 — avg 60 · peak 140Jun 2025 — avg 40 · peak 85Nov 2025 — avg 44 · peak 98Apr 2026 — avg 39 · peak 81Aug 2026 — avg 38 · peak 72
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$4.99$0.492015-01-012026-07-092015-01-01 — best price $2.492015-06-22 — best price $4.992015-07-21 — best price $1.242015-12-01 — best price $4.992016-02-05 — best price $1.242016-03-25 — best price $4.992016-06-23 — best price $0.992016-09-26 — best price $4.992016-11-29 — best price $4.992017-06-22 — best price $0.992017-11-28 — best price $4.992018-02-15 — best price $0.992018-07-05 — best price $4.992018-12-20 — best price $0.992019-02-12 — best price $4.992019-10-28 — best price $0.992020-01-02 — best price $4.992020-10-29 — best price $0.992020-12-01 — best price $4.992021-06-24 — best price $0.992021-12-01 — best price $4.992022-01-27 — best price $0.992022-07-07 — best price $4.992022-12-22 — best price $0.492023-03-23 — best price $4.992023-09-12 — best price $0.492023-11-17 — best price $0.692024-01-04 — best price $4.992024-06-27 — best price $0.742024-11-22 — best price $4.992024-12-19 — best price $1.242025-03-20 — best price $4.992025-09-29 — best price $1.242026-01-05 — best price $4.992026-06-25 — best price $0.992026-07-09 — best price $4.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

152772026-05-31 — 100 pageviews2026-06-04 — 122 pageviews2026-06-08 — 125 pageviews2026-06-12 — 126 pageviews2026-06-16 — 86 pageviews2026-06-20 — 92 pageviews2026-06-24 — 97 pageviews2026-06-28 — 140 pageviews2026-07-02 — 116 pageviews2026-07-06 — 146 pageviews2026-07-10 — 110 pageviews2026-07-14 — 100 pageviews2026-07-18 — 86 pageviews2026-07-22 — 108 pageviews2026-07-26 — 107 pageviews2026-07-30 — 97 pageviews2026-08-03 — 93 pageviews2026-08-07 — 77 pageviews2026-08-11 — 82 pageviews2026-08-15 — 92 pageviews2026-08-19 — 91 pageviews2026-08-23 — 140 pageviews2026-08-27 — 99 pageviews2026-08-31 — 112 pageviews2026-09-04 — 105 pageviews2026-09-08 — 118 pageviews2026-09-12 — 112 pageviews2026-09-16 — 108 pageviews2026-09-20 — 115 pageviews2026-09-24 — 113 pageviews2026-09-28 — 95 pageviews2026-10-02 — 99 pageviews2026-10-06 — 124 pageviews2026-10-09 — 108 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerCustom Volume ControlsAdjustable DifficultyPlayable without Timed InputSave AnytimeFamily Sharing

3 supported languages: English, French, German

Where its players are

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

Player tags

FPSShort1990'sActionAliensSci-fiClassicShooterZombiesAdventure

Census log

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

Players also track

Counter-StrikeHalf-LifeHalf-Life 2PortalWolfenstein: The New Order

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗