Let’s face it- rumours of Half Life 3 being in growth have been round since what feels just like the daybreak of time at this level. Because the launch of Half Life 2: Episode Two in 2007, there was no scarcity of reviews which have claimed that observe ups for Valve’s celebrated first individual shooter franchise are in developments, and clearly, as everyone knows, often, these reviews have confirmed false. Positive, we did get the VR unique Half Life: Alyx, and sure, Half Life 3 truly has been in growth at sure factors, just for issues to not have panned out behind the scenes and the challenge in the end being shelved- however right here we’re near 20 years after the aforementioned Episode Two’s launch, and that subsequent mainline entry within the sequence that rumours have been harping on about for therefore lengthy nonetheless stays as elusive as ever.
Now, lo and behold, reviews are swirling once more a few new Half Life sport being in growth, as they’ve on no few events over time. And although your first intuition with any claims of that kind could be to immediately dismiss them at this level – hell, you’ve probably even executed that with this present crop of reviews – this time, this time, it seems like possibly there may be one thing to the reviews. Possibly Valve actually does have Half Life’s subsequent huge chapter within the works, and possibly, simply possibly, we’d truly get to see how the story performs out after the occasions of 2007’s Episode Two.
However let’s pause and look again at current events- as a result of what ever are these reviews of a Half Life 3 claiming particularly? In line with distinguished Valve insider Tyler McVicker, the corporate has Half Life 3 within the works, and really has executed for some time. That report comes on the heels of different developments over current months which have added gasoline to the hearth, akin to claims from an actor final 12 months that Valve was engaged on a Half Life challenge underneath the codename Mission White Sands.
As per McVicker, Half Life 3 is within the works as HLX as a full fledged non VR sport, and is much sufficient alongside in growth that it’s now at a stage the place it’s totally playable finish to finish. As per the insider, although there isn’t full readability but on whether or not the sport is content material full, it is mechanics complete- which signifies that although Valve should add playable sections to the sport that aren’t at present in, the core mechanics that the expertise is constructed on are all prepared and usable.
In truth, so superior is Half Life 3’s manufacturing that in accordance with McVicker, the sport may even be introduced in some unspecified time in the future this summer time, with a launch presumably being focused for this winter. It ought to go with out saying that, as with something within the video video games trade, there is no such thing as a date or launch window which you can and will take as a right, and there’s each probability that Valve doesn’t truly persist with that timeline for Half Life 3 (particularly since nothing has been formally introduced but, so any and all delays could be purely inner at worst). The purpose, nonetheless, is that if McVicker’s claims are certainly true (which isn’t ever assured with an organization like Valve, and with a sport as perennially elusive as Half Life 3), the challenge is clearly superior sufficient in growth that, as soon as means or one other, it’s going to be inside touching distance sooner relatively than later, even when we don’t get an announcement and a launch this 12 months, because the plan at present appears to be.
As thrilling as it’s to contemplate the prospect of a Half Life 3 lastly being launched at lengthy lengthy, you clearly even have to speak in regards to the different aspect of the argument- since you do completely perceive the wholesome quantities of skepticism surrounding any and all claims that the sport is within the works. Even for those who had been to disregard the truth that Half Life has been dormant for near 20 years barring a VR unique title (which was admittedly spectacular and completely unmissable for anybody who’s a sequence fan), or the truth that Valve hasn’t made a numbered sequel previous sophomore entries ever, you continue to have to contemplate the truth that Valve simply isn’t that targeted on sport growth as an organization anymore, with Steam (and now Stem Deck) being what it diverts most of its consideration to.
And whereas that’s clearly true and has been for fairly a very long time, it additionally has been much less true in recent times than it had been till not that lengthy ago- as a result of Valve’s output has undeniably elevated of late, even whether it is nowhere near what it was once at one level (although which will truthfully be unreasonable to count on, given simply how lengthy it takes to make a AAA sport lately anyway- however that’s a completely totally different dialog).
We had Artifact in 2018, which type of sucked, however was Valve’s first new sport launch in a protracted, very long time. After that, we had Half Life: Alyx in 2020, a VR unique title that was by its very nature not almost as accessible to a large viewers as you’ll need a main new Half Life sport to be, however was nonetheless a completely stellar sport that anybody with the means and need to play it (what with its steep value of entry, due to the {hardware} that it’s on) ought to completely not miss out on. Rather more not too long ago, in 2024, Valve launched MOBA third individual shooter Impasse in open playtesting, attracting huge participant numbers and widespread reward from many- and that’s a sport that’s formally not even out but, so it should hopefully solely proceed to get higher within the time to come back.
Across the time that Half Life: Alyx was about to come back out, Valve talked about how the VR shooter wasn’t going to be a one off, that it truly represented Valve’s return to the world of Half Life. The suggestion very a lot was that there have been extra Half Life tales within the pipeline that the corporate meant to work on- and if rumurs are to be believed, it looks like that work has progressed fairly properly behind the scenes. Valve by no means launched official numbers for a way properly Half Life: Alyx did, however seemingly, the sport carried out properly sufficient that the corporate determined to maneuver forward plans with a full fledged non VR sequel.
Or that’s what we’re hoping for, at the very least. Let’s not neglect that that is nonetheless Valve, and that that is nonetheless the fabled Half Life 3 in question- which signifies that if tomorrow we had been to get phrase that the challenge is useless and should by no means even have been alive within the first place, although we might undoubtedly be upset, we possibly wouldn’t be terribly stunned. After so lengthy, it’s tough to imagine that we may conceivably studying “Half Life 3 confirmed” headlines in some unspecified time in the future within the not-too-distant future that aren’t being ironic within the slightest. Hopefully, nonetheless, that’s precisely what we’re headed for- the rumours undoubtedly do appear to be gathering momentum, so we’re preserving our fingers crossed with ever-so-cautious optimism.
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