Support NeoGAF

[SCB3]

I've been on a Half Life kick lately and waiting for my Steam Deck to arrive to go through the series again, but it makes me wonder, what ever happened to the 3rd game?

From looking around we have the following:

• HL Episode 3 - Plot was leaked out and seemed great, but what happened to the Episode?
• Half Life Alyx - more a prequel that leads back to the ending of Ep. 2 - No Spoilers here but it makes sense
• Valve seemingly focussing on first on Steam and then on VR
• All the HL Writers no longer at Valve
• Valve do not talk about HL at all

So what the hell happened, its such a an amazing and strange IP to be left seemingly dormant with no plans at all for it

Personally, I do not think if it ever is made, it'll live up to expectations but it will still be a decent game, especially seeing how well Source games handle now (Titanfall and Apex for example)

 

[amigastar]

Because Valve can't count to three.
But seriously i still hope we get HL3 one day.

 

[rofif]

Alyx is technically a sequel to episode 2.... for about 5 seconds lol

 

[The Cockatrice]

Half Life Alyx - more a prequel that leads back to the ending of Ep. 2 - No Spoilers here but it makes sense

They even changed the ending for ep 2 so its fucking idiotic that they're not actually giving us a true sequel to it. Gamers will forever "owe" Valve a lot for giving us the best gaming platform ever made but fucking hell, with so much money and talent, its insane they're not giving gamers a proper closure for Gordon Freeman.

 

[SCB3]

Alyx is technically a sequel to episode 2.... for about 5 seconds lol

Yea was trying to avoid the spoilers there lol

 

[AV]

Short answer: Valve don't care about giving you closure.

Longer answer: HL1 and 2 were somewhat boundary pushing for their times. What would a HL3 realistically do as a first person shooter? Ship's long sailed on an Episode 3 so kick that can down the road. HL3 needs a wider adoption of VR as a consumer tech and it's just not going that way right now. Alyx is the best VR experience I've had but it's easy to see why they wouldn't bother making another one for the returns they probably saw.

There's a team working on a fan-made episode 3 based on Laidlaw's script which is probably the closest you're gonna get.

 

[Mephisto40]

The only time it's ever coming out is if they can make something truely groundbreaking that other games havnt done before

Which at this point, is probably going to be never

 

[rofif]

Yea was trying to avoid the spoilers there lol

If someone understands that without playing the game? He is a genius

 

[AJUMP23]

Gabe has said he has no compelling reason to make one.

 

[Valonquar]

Too much time has passed. Even the remasters are not enough to elevate HL above current games in terms of graphics or storytelling. They were amazing games for the time, but a true story sequel at this point would be kind of weird really.

 

[Valt7786]

At this point its been so long and so hyped/wanted there's no way it could ever meet the internets expectations. They'd have to absolutely push graphical or physics boundaries, again. Be a PC only release, require a 4090 etcetc, limiting the people who could play it. No matter what I think it would just end up being a PR disaster for Valve at this point.

They'll make it when they get desperate for money, which will probably be never. Its definitely being kept as their ace in the hole though.

 

[SCB3]

The only time it's ever coming out is if they can make something truely groundbreaking that other games havnt done before

Which at this point, is probably going to be never

yea this is what I mean, outside of VR whats really the next big technological step?

It reminds me of Mario Kart 8, what could you add to it that justifies a Mario Kart 9 at this point?

 

[rabbity-thing]

Cause Half Life is an overrated series with meh gameplay, generic characters, and a story that can only get dumber as it edges forward towards closure.

I dunno... watching the mysterious gman, a ripoff of agent Smith, antagonize a mute engineer.... it's hard to care where the series goes next.

Edited due to gross inaccuracy

 

[Maiden Voyage]

These things, they take time.

 

[Topher]

I've been on a Half Life kick lately and waiting for my Steam Deck to arrive to go through the series again, but it makes me wonder, what ever happened to the 3rd game?

From looking around we have the following:

• HL Episode 3 - Plot was leaked out and seemed great, but what happened to the Episode?
• Half Life Alyx - more a prequel that leads back to the ending of Ep. 2 - No Spoilers here but it makes sense
• Valve seemingly focussing on first on Steam and then on VR
• All the HL Writers no longer at Valve
• Valve do not talk about HL at all

So what the hell happened, its such a an amazing and strange IP to be left seemingly dormant with no plans at all for it

Personally, I do not think if it ever is made, it'll live up to expectations but it will still be a decent game, especially seeing how well Source games handle now (Titanfall and Apex for example)

I'd tell you the answer but first you have to request your username to be changed to SCB2.

 

[remember_spinal]

Theres nothign they can do to live up to peoples expectations anymore. The things that were novel about HL are common place now

Thats why they were smart for doing Alyx, a complete pivot to something new and innovative in its own lane

 

[V1LÆM]

Valve don't really make games anymore. Alyx was basically just a VR show piece. Valve are more of a services/hardware company now. They gotta run steam, they do hardware stuff like Steam Machine/Deck, they are forever working towards improving gaming on Linux, and they maintain the games they do have such as DOTA2/CS:GO.

There will be a team there that is working on games but most likely nobody cares enough to do Half Life 3. Maybe they don't feel there is a good enough reason to do it. HL might've been innovative when it came out but what can you do now to make it stand out? If Valve makes games it'll be in response to major trends like the MOBA/Autochess/Card craze or if they want to show off new hardware like they did with Alyx.

 

[Pagusas]

They are scared they can’t live up to the masterpieces they made before, this haven’t tried.

 

[mxbison]

Because they don't need to push out some generic ass AAA FPS to make money. Peanuts compared to what Steam brings in.

Half-Life was always about pushing boundaries and unless they find the vision/motivation to do so, there will not be a HL3.

 

[calistan]

Because Valve can't make games like that anymore. Their glory years as a games developer were decades ago, they've moved on to other things now. Better to just forget about it than to make a disappointment.

 

[Salz01]

Ive come to grips, that we will never see HL3. Plus if it ever did come out, it would have a battle pass too.

 

[V1LÆM]

yea this is what I mean, outside of VR whats really the next big technological step?

It reminds me of Mario Kart 8, what could you add to it that justifies a Mario Kart 9 at this point?

I think the next big thing after VR will be AR.

VR still hasn't really taken off. On both PC and consoles it's just an expensive accessory that most people will get bored off after a while. The hardware still has a way to go and the game library is small and uninteresting.

If over the next few years headsets become more popular because Apple has entered the market and Meta's investments pay off then we could see headsets with significantly improved passthrough and allow us to play games in Augmented Reality. Look how big Pokemon Go was and imagine instead of everyone running about with smartphones they were wearing headsets. Instead of looking at the Pokemon through the phone screen they could see them infront of their eyes overlayed onto the real world.

 

[kuncol02]

Half-Life: Alyx - Final Hours answers your question.

 

[YCoCg]

It was cruel of them to put that easter egg in Portal 2 linking the universes as well, it just adds even more questions!

 

[jaysius]

Real reason is that Valve used to make money producing their own software, and it has high costs because of development, but the more of other people's shit they got a % of the more they realized they don't need to make shit to thrive as a business. Yea they make VR, but that's also successful.

TL;DR:They shifted to a more profitable revenue stream.

 

[Smiggs]

Cause Half Life is an overrated series with meh gameplay, generic characters, and a story that can only get dumber as it edges forward towards closure.

I dunno... watching the mysterious gman, a ripoff of agent Smith, antagonize a mute engineer.... it's hard to care where the series goes next.

This is one of the most impressively bad takes I've ever seen.

Quick question, which came out first--Half Life or The Matrix?

 

[Punished Miku]

I thought it came out as a short blog post.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/25/16202006/half-life-2-episode-3-plot-mark-laidlaw-valve

Pretty bold of them to completely change genres to a text adventure like that. Valve never cease to amaze. If we're lucky maybe they'll push their desks together in the next decade and make a twitter post with the plot of part 4.

 

[gothmog]

HL3 at this point would be disappointing. Has any long awaited sequel ever worked out?

 

[Maiden Voyage]

This was over 10 years ago btw

 

[SF Kosmo]

I've been on a Half Life kick lately and waiting for my Steam Deck to arrive to go through the series again, but it makes me wonder, what ever happened to the 3rd game?

From looking around we have the following:

• HL Episode 3 - Plot was leaked out and seemed great, but what happened to the Episode?
• Half Life Alyx - more a prequel that leads back to the ending of Ep. 2 - No Spoilers here but it makes sense
• Valve seemingly focussing on first on Steam and then on VR
• All the HL Writers no longer at Valve
• Valve do not talk about HL at all

So what the hell happened, its such a an amazing and strange IP to be left seemingly dormant with no plans at all for it

Personally, I do not think if it ever is made, it'll live up to expectations but it will still be a decent game, especially seeing how well Source games handle now (Titanfall and Apex for example)

Geoff Keighley's Half Life Alyx: The Final Hours does a pretty good job of explaining it but the short version is:

Episode 3 got over scoped and seriously behind so they decided to make it a stand alone game, which delayed it further until Source was just desperately obsolete, so the decision was made to wait until Source 2 was done.

And then at that point everything was fucked because Source 2 was yeaaaars from being a viable engine. So people would make various attempts at things but they would always sputter out early because the tools and engine weren't really there. It wasn't until the VR stuff came out that Valve actually finished Source 2, and a project could get somewhere.

HL Alyx is HL3 as much as any of these projects have been. Like they keep rebooting what HL3 even is. I think they stand a better shot at making a new HL game now than at any point in the last decade but that's not saying much.

 

[kurisu_1974]

This is one of the most impressively bad takes I've ever seen.

Quick question, which came out first--Half Life or The Matrix?

I'm sure Half Life was first, makes sense as the Matrix ripped off everything and everyone that came before, put a leather jacket on, and became a mainstream success with people that had never seen a sci fi movie before.

 

[rabbity-thing]

This is one of the most impressively bad takes I've ever seen.

Quick question, which came out first--Half Life or The Matrix?

Point taken and post edited... but, y'know... the rest of my "take" still stands.

 

[Wildebeest]

It was cruel of them to put that easter egg in Portal 2 linking the universes as well, it just adds even more questions!

Aperture Science was already added to the Half-Life universe in Episode 2 when it was revealed that the Borealis was an Aperture Science research vessel. The Borealis was going to be a central location in Episode 3.

As to why it never happened, I don't know. A shift in management style leading to a lot of internal strife and infighting over direction. A move away from less profitable single player games since even Portal 2 was pushed as a primarily co-op game with microtransactions. They also cited an internal fear over fan backlash after the release of Mass Effect 3. Like the fact that Alyx was going to come into conflict with Gordon in Episode 3 and not be the magical UwU special princess who never does anything wrong and is always right because she has ovaries. No way of predicting how that would go over.

 

[Umbasaborne]

Steam took off and valve grew complacent, they’d rather make cheap easy to make multiplayer games then big expensive single player shooters

 

[MiguelItUp]

I think it's a combination of getting side tracked, losing sight, losing staff, etc.

Now they're at a point where they want to be more comfortable with the HL IP, and it sounds like they are now after Alyx. All the interviews about the development for Alyx really leaned on them being worried and concerned about returning to the IP, which is understandable I feel. I'm sure they STILL feel it.

I'd love to see HL3 come to fruition someday, but honestly, I think it's so far gone it's not even worth hoping for. It'd be cool to be wrong, it happens, and it's amazing. But man, with this large of a gap in time, I really don't even know if it'd live up to any of the hype people have.

It's so sad because I'm just so happy to see Valve still making games when they do since it's so rare these days.

 

[Laptop1991]

Because Valve basically, they don't want to make it, i don't understand the VR only Alex either, if they had released Alex has a normal game as well, it would have sold bucket loads.

 

[HL3.exe]

Short answer: Valve don't care about giving you closure.

Longer answer: HL1 and 2 were somewhat boundary pushing for their times. What would a HL3 realistically do as a first person shooter? Ship's long sailed on an Episode 3 so kick that can down the road. HL3 needs a wider adoption of VR as a consumer tech and it's just not going that way right now. Alyx is the best VR experience I've had but it's easy to see why they wouldn't bother making another one for the returns they probably saw.

There's a team working on a fan-made episode 3 based on Laidlaw's script which is probably the closest you're gonna get.

Basically this yeah, gathered from all the interviews, leaks and 'final hours' doc.

Added: combined with tech troubles with Source 2 early on where also part of the reason, according to Final Hours. A lot of physics and Ai concepts just didn't work because of the wonky tools and bad memory management, Combined with Valve's unorganized structure. It kinda says a lot about the leaps in FPS design since HL2 when a big independent party with unlimited funds sorta got stumped a couple of years in search for a new leap in the genre on flat panel (before their VR pivot)

One leak (so take it with a grain of salt) based on information from 2013, was meant to be a leap in elemental physics based gameplay like environmental temperature changes that the player could control and items in the world reacting to these dynamic states to solve puzzles, but they couldn't make it fun (or had early tech issues)

As of now, according to more leaks, since the success from Alyx, that team is more reinvigorated then ever before and 'HLX' (according to the leaker) is HL3 based on Alyx's gameplay fundamentals. But again, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Fuz]

Gamers will forever "owe" Valve a lot for giving us the best gaming platform ever made

Ahahaha fuck no. Owe them for giving us cancer?

 

[Lasha]

Zero incentive. Valve is a private company that prints money due to its defacto monopoly on PC gaming. A lack of external shareholders puts no pressure on Valve to do anything it's employees and owners don't want to. You will only see a HL3 if somebody at Valve feels like making it.

 

[ADiTAR]

Probably the same reason GRRM will never finish SoI&F, they won't live up to people's expectations.

Tho at this point, I dunno why they care.

 

[Ishma3L]

These things, they take time.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Too much easy sales just having staff run the e-store. Making HL3 might cost $100M dollars. Will they sell enough PC copies to make it a success? Probably. But the more risk averse thing to do is just keep humming doing what they do now.

 

[Shubh_C63]

They always had made games to showcase their engine or platform, hence Half Life : Alyx out of nowhere and again became one of the best VR titles.

HL3 FPS showcases nothing.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Zero incentive. Valve is a private company that prints money due to its defacto monopoly on PC gaming. A lack of external shareholders puts no pressure on Valve to do anything it's employees and owners don't want to. You will only see a HL3 if somebody at Valve feels like making it.

And thats such a good benefit of private companies. Its all up to leadership to set internal goals.

With publicly traded companies, it's all about growth and hitting quarterly numbers. In private companies, people have goals too, but they can be annual goals. My old salesmen colleagues who came from privately owned companies would say as long as they hit their targets by end of fiscal year thats all the VPs and execs cared about. I've always worked at big publicly owned companies. The strive to hit the number monthly is a key focus.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Ahahaha fuck no. Owe them for giving us cancer?

Steam is cancer? I used quotatio marks for owe. ofc we dont owe them a thing per say. Just that we should be glad, its the best thing there is, considering the other trash stores, including consoles as well.

 

[AlteredForms]

Because Valve are lazy bastards who don't have an original bone in their body.

 

[Fuz]

Steam is cancer?

Yes. It gave PC, what was an open platform, launchers and walled gardens.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Alyx is technically a sequel to episode 2.... for about 5 seconds lol

Yup. It’s a prequel and for the briefest of moments, a sequel. Masterfully pulled off though, imo.

 

[Represent.]

Because Valve is a selfish company that doesnt give a shit about anything their fans say.

 

[Lasha]

And thats such a good benefit of private companies. Its all up to leadership to set internal goals.

With publicly traded companies, it's all about growth and hitting quarterly numbers. In private companies, people have goals too, but they can be annual goals. My old salesmen colleagues who came from privately owned companies would say as long as they hit their targets by end of fiscal year thats all the VPs and execs cared about. I've always worked at big publicly owned companies. The strive to hit the number monthly is a key focus.

Doubly so when you work for a local monopoly. A lack of accountability and tribalism are common feedback about working for valve. The company makes money regardless of what the employees do so the incentive to get stuff done is arbitrary.