Half-Life: Opposing Force cover art
Standalone expansion

Half-Life: Opposing Force

by Gearbox Software · published by Sierra Entertainment

Released November 10, 1999 on PC, Mac, and Linux.

Half-Life: Opposing Force Trailer thumbnail

About Half-Life: Opposing Force

Opposing Force returns to the same setting as Half-Life, but instead portrays the events from the perspective of a U.S. Marine, one of the enemy characters in the original game. The player character, Adrian Shephard, is sent in to neutralize the Black Mesa Research Facility after a scientific mishap causes it to be invaded by aliens, but quickly finds that the Marines are outnumbered and slowly being beaten back by a second alien race and black operations units.

Opposing Force opens with Shephard riding on a V-22 Osprey with his squad. His squad discuss their deployment, somewhat irritated that they have not been told what they are being deployed for. However, as they are nearing their Landing Zone at Black Mesa, airborne alien creatures attack the Osprey formation, causing Shephard's Osprey to crash land. Shephard regains consciousness in a Black Mesa medical bay, tended to by the science team, learning that the Marines are being steadily beaten by the alien forces from Xen and orders have come through to pull out. Consequently, Shephard departs to reach an extraction point and escape the facility. However, Shephard is prevented from reaching the extraction point by the enigmatic G-Man, forcing the evacuation craft to leave without him. Other Marines who have also been left behind team up with Shephard and attempt to reach another extraction point near Black Mesa's Lambda Complex, but en route they come under attack from black operations units seeking to thoroughly contain the situation and eliminate all survivors. Shephard makes it to the Lambda Complex alive, and briefly sees Gordon Freeman as the latter teleports to Xen in the final stages of Half-Life. To escape the teleportation chamber, Shephard is forced to enter a separate portal, briefly taking him to Xen before depositing him in an entirely different area of the facility. The facility is now heavily damaged, and it soon becomes clear that a new alien race, Race X, has exploited the situation to mount a localized invasion, attacking both human and Xen forces in Black Mesa indiscriminately. Fighting between the black operations units and Race X quickly intensifies. Shephard soon encounters more stranded Marine units in the wreckage of the base, and tries to break through the black operations units to reach an escape point past the facility's storage unit, but meets heavy resistance from both Race X and the black operations units. A surviving Black Mesa security guard reveals to Shephard that the black operators intend to detonate a tactical nuclear weapon in the base, thereby totally sealing it off and killing everything in it. After successfully neutralizing the guarding black operations unit, Shephard disarms the device and proceeds to the nearby storage areas, intent on escape. However, the G-Man rearms the device as Shephard departs. The storage unit has become a thick battleground between Race X and the black operation units, and although Shephard manages to evade them, he is informed by another security guard that something very large is coming through an alien portal blocking the exit path. At the portal, Shephard discovers a gene worm, a massive creature facilitating the Race X invasion. Shephard is able to kill the creature, but just afterwards he is teleported onto an Osprey by the G-Man. As the G-Man congratulates Shephard on his accomplishments, the nuclear device detonates in the background, destroying Black Mesa. The game closes with the G-Man detaining Shephard someplace where he can tell no one of what he has seen and cannot be harmed, pending further evaluation.

Release dates by platform

PCNANovember 10, 1999 · Out now
PCEUNovember 15, 1999 · Out now
MacJuly 31, 2013 · Out now
LinuxJuly 31, 2013 · Out now

Reviews & players

Steam reviewsOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 29K positive
Player score80406 ratings on IGDB

Half-Life: Opposing Force FAQ

When did Half-Life: Opposing Force come out?

Half-Life: Opposing Force was released on November 10, 1999 for PC, Mac, and Linux.

Is Half-Life: Opposing Force on PlayStation 5?

No. Half-Life: Opposing Force has not been announced for PlayStation 5. It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux.

Is Half-Life: Opposing Force on Xbox Series X|S?

No. Half-Life: Opposing Force has not been announced for Xbox Series X|S. It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux.

Is Half-Life: Opposing Force on Nintendo Switch 2?

No. Half-Life: Opposing Force has not been announced for Nintendo Switch 2. It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux.

Who is making Half-Life: Opposing Force?

Half-Life: Opposing Force is developed by Gearbox Software and published by Sierra Entertainment and Valve.

Is Half-Life: Opposing Force multiplayer?

Yes. Half-Life: Opposing Force supports single player and multiplayer.

How much does Half-Life: Opposing Force cost?

Half-Life: Opposing Force costs $4.99 on Steam. Prices checked October 9, 2026.

Is Half-Life: Opposing Force good?

Steam players rate it "Overwhelmingly Positive" — 95% of 29,132 reviews are positive.

Half-Life series

14 games in release order

Full timeline
  1. Half-Life1998
  2. Half-Life: Uplink1999
  3. Half-Life: Opposing Force1999
  4. Half-Life: Blue Shift2001
  5. Half-Life: Decay2001
  6. Half-Life: Source2004
  7. Half-Life 22004
  8. Half-Life 2: Deathmatch2004
  9. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast2005
  10. Half-Life Deathmatch: Source2006
  11. Half-Life 2: Episode One2006
  12. Half-Life 2: Episode Two2007
  13. Half-Life: Alyx2020
  14. Half-Life 2: Episode ThreeTBA

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