[Bullet Club]

Half-Life 3 is reportedly not in development, as 'Valve focuses on Steam Deck'​

It's claimed that all attention is being placed on games that better fit Valve's upcoming handheld

Half-Life 3 is not in active development, and Valve is instead focusing on Steam Deck friendly titles, according to a report.

Tylver McVicker of Valve News Network states in a new video that according to his sources, there is no sequel to Half-Life 2: Episode Two currently being developed.

"To get the big question out of the way, is there a true follow-up to Half-Life 2: Episode Two in development in any capacity at Valve Software?" McVicker asks in his new video.

"The end of Half-Life Alyx, for those who haven't played it heavily, hints towards the continuation of Gordon Freeman's story.

"The issue is that no, at the current time, there isn't a major development team working on anything outside of the few pieces of software that are specifically tailored for hardware right now.

"Valve is trying to get the Steam Deck out and, like many people have observed, the Steam Deck has been significantly more successful than originally anticipated, so Valve is throwing a lot at it.

"Half-Life 3, Half-Life 2 Episode 3, any kind of traditional mouse and keyboard FPS at Valve is not taking place, [and] if it its, it's a very small group of people and those individuals will not be seen as value generating by the higher-ups."

McVicker claims that Valve is instead working on a separate project called Citadel, which McVicker has been reporting on for some time.

According to him, Citadel's game mechanics make it a better fit for the Steam Deck, which is why Valve is reportedly focusing on that.

"Valve is working on a piece of software to best showcase what the Steam Deck is capable of doing – Citadel," McVicker explained.




"This is a nostalgia fest, this is a Half-Life based FPS/RTS hybrid that is co-operatively based. Think about Left 4 Dead and Alien Swarm, and RTS and Half-Life all having a baby."

Announced in July, Steam Deck is described as "a powerful all-in-one portable PC" capable of running the latest AAA games.

Steam Deck runs the latest version of Valve's SteamOS software – which is based on Linux – allowing players to access their Steam games library and all the platform's features.

However, Valve insists Steam Deck is also an open PC with the ability to install any software or connect with any hardware.

Source: VGC

 

[Kadayi]

OG Half-Life player here. Honestly, at this juncture, I suspect most people are beyond caring given how little Valve have really curated the Franchise. It seems to me that they're only really interested in rolling it out if there is some clear purpose to it to promote Tech (Half-Life:Alyx) versus giving fans some closure to one of the biggest cliffhangers in gaming.

Much props to Valve in terms of Steam and pushing the tech envelope, but as Game Developers they leave a lot to be desired IMHO.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

It's wild how Half Life and Half Life 2 each had several spin-offs / episodes, and now... nothing. I really enjoyed Blue Shift, Opposing Force, etc as well as OG HL. I also loved seeing all those Quake mods modernized in HL and HL2 like Team Fortress, introducing a new generation of gamers to a classic mode.

I suspect Valve is keeping remakes of HL1 and HL2 -- as well as HL3 plus new engine -- in their Disney vault until they really need it.

 

[Grinchy]

Wasn't HL2 released in like 2004? A sequel at this point would be like when a movie studio out of nowhere tries to cash in on nostalgia and releases a Dumb and Dumber sequel. Are we sure we actually want a HL3?

I am really dying to play Alyx, though.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Honestly, good.

I do not trust HL3 to ever be able to even slightly live up to expectations, meanwhile the fact Valve are going all in on the Steam Deck is music to my ears as someone that reserved one.

Nthe fact they're actively making games specifically for it too is brilliant, and exactly what I'd been hoping for. I don't need it to be exclusive, but optimised around the hardware and it's inputs would be a great way to maintain sales momentum once they actually start being available to buy.

 

[CloudNull]

Just give me a sequel to half life Alyx. No need to make 3 and just let the og series die.

Or give me a new left 4 dead that runs in vr.

 

[Zefah]

Haven't they said time and time again that they feel the need for it to be as impactful and revolutionary as the first two?

I just don't see that happening with where the FPS genre currently is. It's too advanced and varied to do anything that really revolutionizes things.

 

[TaySan]

I don't care anymore and it's probably for the best. No way HL3 would be anything but a disappointment given the expectations everyone will have.

 

[WesternBlood]

But of course.

I've moved on from hope about eight years ago. Oh well.

Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead all remain as impactful experiences and are in my top 10 games of all time.

 

[QuantumZebra]

OG Half-Life player here. Honestly, at this juncture, I suspect most people are beyond caring given how little Valve have really curated the Franchise. It seems to me that they're only really interested in rolling it out if there is some clear purpose to it to promote Tech (Half-Life:Alyx) versus giving fans some closure to one of the biggest cliffhangers in gaming.

Much props to Valve in terms of Steam and pushing the tech envelope, but as Game Developers they leave a lot to be desired IMHO.

I went from waiting for HL3 news every year to just saying "fuck it".

Still haven't played Alyx... probably won't.

Just sad.

 

[Sejan]

Is anyone actually surprised? If anyone at Steam was interested in actually making HL3, we would have seen something by now. A teaser trailer, a teaser image, or something. Valve gets a better return on investment from Steam than they could ever get from something like HL3.

 

[Optimus]

Wasn't HL2 released in like 2004? A sequel at this point would be like when a movie studio out of nowhere tries to cash in on nostalgia and releases a Dumb and DumberGhostbusters sequel. Are we sure we actually want a HL3?

I am really dying to play Alyx, though.

FTFY. I mean, I'm not exactly hearing terrible things about that movie, but it aptly fits your point and surely doesn't align perfectly with the originals or what a third entry would have been if the original cast of writers and stars were still around to do a true sequel, am I right? Total nostalgia-driven cash grab.

I, too, am pretty much done with the Half-Life universe. They had their chance even as recently as 8 years ago for me. Now, things are just too different now. Now, we are on the brink of having a true Combine force complete with "civil protection" seeking to monitor our every breath for anything not in total ideological alignment with our benefactors. lol