To be honest? Not really.
There's no specific definition of mainstream, but I'll highlight the difference. CoD is mainstream, in that it has an annual release, a wide audience, dozens of entries, and if you ask someone on the street, there's a chance they might have at least heard of it. Half-Life however? Well, here's some of the facts:
I feel like setting the bar at CoD is a bit too restrictive. It's like putting any other platforming game next to Mario.
Wasn't really thinking about broad general populace either, when it comes to mainstream
gaiming audience. Among people actualy interested in video games, many have at least heard about Half-Life, even if they didn't personally play it.
-The series hasn't a had a proper release since 2004. Yes, we can include Alyx, but Alyx is the definition of niche, in that it's PC exclusive, and requires expensive headwear to play. As you touch on, the series is arguably better known for memes at this point.
2007*. That's when Episode 2 premiered, which marked the end of Half-Life release cycle until Alyx. Although, one could count Black Mesa and (sadly)Hunt Down the Freeman as HL releases, since they've been more or less adopted by Valve as canon.
Anyway, lots have changed since 2004. VR is the hot shit currently(again). Even if it's still too expensive/exotic to take hold, among VR games, Alyx is the opposite of niche. It's probably the best selling VR game, next to Beat Saber.
Plus, there's streaming - watching Twitch have become just another way of consuming this media, despite not being interactive(in traditional sense).
And being known through memes, is still being known. Half-Life might've not got a proper release for 13 years, but i've seen people making the same "HL3 confirmed" jokes throughout them.
-Half-Life has a very passionate fanbase, but it's always struck me as a niche one. I can't cite any hard figures for this, but for instance, Metroid has a very passionate fanbase as well, but it's a pretty niche IP, in as much that it doesn't bring in many sales.
Hey, i thought we were discussing
facts here?
Joking aside, i also consider Metroid a mainstream game. Samus might not be as recognizable gaming figure as Lara Croft(though, is she still?), atleast in the west, but her games gave name to a whole subgenre of platformers, that have now re-emerged in mainstream consciousness.
-I'd be willing to bet that if I talked to people on the street, chances are they'd have heard of Call of Duty. If I say "Master Chief," they might recognise "oh hey, that guy from Halo." In contrast, if I say "Half-Life" or "Gordon Freeman," I'd be certain to get blank stares, or mentions of radioactive decay.
Yes, if you'd ask a random grandma, she might have heard about this "cowadoody" thing their grandkids talk about. By the same token, she'd have no idea what Fall Guys is, despite being very popular right now. I don't really consider a random street person as a good representation of mainstream gaming audience.
And "John Halo" is about as recognizable as "that guy with the glasses and crowbar" to people that played neither of these games.
Thing is, I know Half-Life is pretty influential in the history of the medium, but it strikes me as having a bigger legacy by its, well, legacy, rather than the franchise itself, if that makes sense. For instance, MMOs have influential titles in the form of Ultima Online and EverQuest, but it's WoW that became the mainstream one.
You know what else is mainstream? Steam. I'd bet most users of that platform would hear about this thing called Half-Life, for obvious reasons.
