Half-Life 3 is starting to be finally acknowledged by Valve after well over a decade of silence. Half-Life is one of the most respected video game franchises thanks to its innovative technology and gameplay, its compelling storytelling, and a fascinating universe. It’s something that Valve itself holds highly, only really digging the IP up for when it feels it has some new way to innovate in the gaming industry. Half-Life: Alyx is a prime example of that as it was the first Half-Life game in about 15 years and it was because VR felt like a really exciting direction for Valve to head in and allowed the team to experiment in unique ways while also expanding the story of that universe. It was a huge hit, but it also dug up some really difficult memories for fans.
Half-Life 2 released 20 years ago and was followed up with episodic content that continued the story. Two of those episodes were released and the second one ended on a big cliffhanger. A third one was expected, but it never saw the light of day. Years went by before fans ultimately realized it wasn’t going to happen. They’d have to live with the unresolved cliffhanger and piece together what Half-Life 3 could’ve been with leaks, rumors, and speculation. However, Alyx re-opened the door by undoing Half-Life 2: Episode 2‘s ending and putting players back in the shoes of Gordon Freeman in the final moments, heavily suggesting that Valve would finally make Half-Life 3. It has been almost five years and Valve hasn’t officially announced the fabled game, but fans believe it will happen and it’s heavily rumored to be in development.
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Nevertheless, for the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2, Valve released a new documentary talking about the game and its episodic content. Toward the end of the documentary, some Valve developers talk about how they were pushing the series forward and why it ultimately ceased to be. On top of that, we got some new Half-Life 3 concept art and footage. The footage primarily focuses on a new ice gun which allowed players to freeze enemies, but also create ice walls to protect them from gunfire. The gun could also make ice bridges to allow you to get over gaps, climb over walls, and even launch yourself using the momentum and slickness of the ice. On top of that, there was a new blob enemy that could move through grates/fences, soak up objects and even enemies like headcrabs, and move through spaces in ways that regular human-esque characters could not. You can see the footage below.
As for why Half-Life 3 was canceled, the team was challenging itself to really raise the bar. Valve seeks innovation and was trying its best to find ways to make sure the game felt new. Unfortunately, the team stalled out and believed it didn’t have enough new ideas to make Half-Life 3 feels as big and innovative as it deserved. The team at Arkane was also working on a Half-Life spin-off known as Ravenholm and Valve felt discouraged as even Arkane was struggling to find new ideas with the current toolset. Some team members moved on to other projects like Left 4 Dead and once that work concluded, returned to Half-Life 3. By that time, the developers believed it was too late to do Half-Life 3 and would need to make a whole new engine to do it justice. In hindsight, some of these developers realized that was a silly mistake and they should’ve just invested the two years needed to see the game to completion, but ultimately, the team would go on to focus on more multiplayer projects.
So, now that Source 2 exists and Half-Life: Alyx has laid some of the groundwork, it seems likely that Half-Life 3 may finally come to fruition. Is this pure cope? Gabe Newell certainly seems to be suggesting that the time is right for a new Half-Life at the end of the aforementioned documentary. Whether that time is 2025 or much later, it remains to be seen. If it does happen, it’s likely Valve will not spend much time marketing it. The delays for the game the first time around and quiet cancellation likely made Valve unwilling to announce something until it’s definitively ready again. If and when Half-Life 3 does release, you can likely expect it within weeks of its announcement, if not the same day if Valve can keep it under wraps for that long.