Source 2 is a

video game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software in ...

developed by

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

. The engine was announced in 2015 as the successor to the original Source engine, with the first game to use it, ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...

'', being ported from Source that same year. Since then, Valve's ''

Artifact Artifact, or artefact, may refer to: Science and technology * Artifact (error), misleading or confusing alteration in data or observation, commonly in experimental science, resulting from flaws in technique or equipment ** Compression artifact, a ...

'', '' Dota Underlords'', and '' Half-Life: Alyx'' have all been made with the engine.

History

Plans for a successor to the original

Source engine Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and ''Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being suc ...

began following the release of '' Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' in 2007. The first engine tech demo was created in 2010 by remaking a map from ''

Left 4 Dead 2 ''Left 4 Dead 2'' is a 2009 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. The sequel to Turtle Rock Studios's ''Left 4 Dead'' (2008) and the second game in the ''Left 4 Dead'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbo ...

''. Images of this were leaked onto the internet in early 2014. At the 2014

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tuto ...

, Valve employee Sergiy Migdalskiy showed off a Source 2 physics debugging tool being used in ''Left 4 Dead 2''. Source 2 was first made available via

Steam Workshop Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing and offering third ...

tools for ''

'' in 2014 prior to it being officially announced at the 2015 Game Developers Conference. There, Valve stated their intent for it was to allow for content to be created more efficiently. Valve also stated that it would support the Vulkan graphics API and use a new in-house

physics engine A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, such as rigid body dynamics (including collision detection), soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics, of use in the domains of computer ...

called Rubikon, which would replace the need for the third-party Havok tools.

Gabe Newell Gabe Logan Newell (born November 3, 1962), nicknamed Gaben, is an American businessman and the president of the video game company Valve. Newell was born in Colorado and grew up in Davis, California. He attended Harvard University in the early ...

, president of Valve, said that the company were prioritizing the development of their own games before they would release the engine and its

software development kit A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...

to the public as a means of ensuring the highest quality for developers; adding that they were intending to make the engine free to use for game developers as long as the game is published on their

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

service. In June 2015, Valve announced that the entirety of ''

'' would be ported over to Source 2 in an update called ''

Dota 2 Reborn ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...

''. ''Reborn'' was first released to the public as an opt-in beta update that same month before officially replacing the original client in September 2015, making it the first game to use the engine. Source 2 has also been used for Valve's ''

'' and '' Dota Underlords'', with the engine later being supported on Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

for the latter. The engine also supports the creation of games in

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

, being used in

SteamVR Steam is a Digital distribution of video games, video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their ...

Home, the ''

Robot Repair ''The Lab'' is a virtual reality (VR) video game developed by Valve and released for Windows on April 5, 2016. It uses VR technology to showcase a series of play experiences accessed through a hub room. The game is set in the '' Portal'' universe ...

'' tech demo within '' The Lab'', and '' Half-Life: Alyx''. Source 2 tools made specifically for creating custom content for ''Half-Life: Alyx'' were released in May 2020.

Games

References

{{Video game engines C++ software Game engines that support Vulkan (API) Proprietary software Source (game engine) Video game engines 3D graphics software Valve Corporation Game engines for Linux IPhone video game engines Software development kits