Half-Life is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Software, the company's debut product and the first in the Half-Life series. First released by Sierra Studios on November 19, 1998, the game was also released for the PlayStation 2 on November 14, 2001. In Half-Life, players assume the role of Dr. Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who must fight his way out of a secret underground research facility, whose research and experiments into teleportation technology have gone disastrously wrong.