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Play Half-Life / CS 1.6 in Your Browser

WebXash is a browser front end that runs Valve's Half-Life and Counter-Strike 1.6 through a WebAssembly build of the open-source Xash3D FWGS engine. It does not host the full games: you load game files you already own, or try the small Half-Life demo packages it offers.

ShooterNeeds checkingx8bitrain.github.io
Half-Life / CS 1.6 cover
Half-Life / CS 1.6 cover. The game runs on x8bitrain.github.io.

Half-Life / CS 1.6 background

Half-Life was released by Valve in 1998 and runs on the GoldSrc engine. Counter-Strike began as a fan mod of Half-Life and became one of Valve's best-known multiplayer games, with version 1.6 still widely played. Xash3D FWGS is an independent, open-source engine that can run many GoldSrc games, and developer yohimik ported it to WebAssembly as the webxash3d-fwgs project.

WebXash, hosted on GitHub Pages, is a separate front end written by x8BitRain on top of that port. Its README states that you must provide your own game files, for example from a Steam install of Half-Life, by opening your game folder or a zip of the valve and cstrike directories. Files are read into an in-memory file system in the browser and nothing is written back to your disk. The page also lists demo packages such as Uplink and Day One. It is an unofficial project and not affiliated with Valve; the full games are sold on Steam.

How to play Half-Life / CS 1.6

Once loaded, the engine runs the original content: in Half-Life you move through the Black Mesa research facility as Gordon Freeman, solving environmental puzzles and fighting aliens and soldiers, while Counter-Strike splits players into terrorists and counter-terrorists in round-based matches. WebXash adds a save manager that stores Half-Life saves in the browser (it is disabled for CS 1.6), launch options for mods supported by Xash3D, and a multiplayer field where you can enter the WebSocket address of a self-hosted webxash3d server. Internet server browsing like on Steam is not available.

  1. Use a desktop browser with a keyboard and mouse; the README says the port is not suited to phones.
  2. Choose Half-Life or Counter-Strike, then click Open game folder and select a folder that contains your own valve and/or cstrike directories, or open a zip, or pick one of the listed demos.
  3. For mods or expansions, set the matching launch argument (for example -game bshift) before loading.
  4. Play in fullscreen: the README notes that Ctrl+W, used for crouch-jumping, can otherwise try to close the browser tab.
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Half-Life / CS 1.6 in Your Browser