Oh Half-Life. Your fans are more ravenous than Final Fantasy zealots, more single-minded than the AMD vs NVIDIA debaters. Half-life 3 has gained almost a mythical level in gaming – it’s the title everyone is waiting for and assumes they will never get. I can’t even imagine that it would meet anyone’s expectations, no matter how awesome it could be. Newell knows you want it, but his idea includes multiplayer and might not be what people are clamouring for.
Speaking to Geoff Keighley in a podcast, he explained that while everyone at Valve loves their titles like Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, Dota 2 and Half=life, they are each specific tools and the company needs to be strategic in how it develops technologies in tandem with its game properties. He recognizes that this may not align with fans’ desperation for a specific game, like Half-Life 3. Comparing it to his own fandom for particular TV shows or book series, he acknowledges the fear people have of “Hey, I remember this awesome experience and I’m starting to get worried that I’m never going to get to have it again.” However, he thinks people will be happy with where Valve is putting their time and energy:
The only reason we’d go back and do like a super classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people just internally at Valve said they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why [they did].
But you know if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we’ve learned in shipping Portal 2 and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we’ll keep moving forward. But that doesn’t necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean.
He has said before that the game would only happen if a team at Valve wanted to make it, but that comment about multiplayer is new. Is that something necessary for a new Half-Life 3? What sort of lessons learned would apply well to the game, or would anything new be seen as blasphemous to the thousands of die-hard fans? It’s a slightly more nuanced stance on Half-Life 3, and it’s always great to see Gabe showing that he hears everyone shouting for the game. However, to get a team together that’s willing to take on this project and the potential wrath of the gaming world? I just don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Last Updated: March 19, 2015
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:33
Zuma also hears everyone shouting no confidence.Does not mean he is gonna step down.
Ranting Raptor
March 19, 2015 at 09:51
Yeah parliament voted against the vote of no confidence. Too many MP’s and stuff in his pockets
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 09:52
It’s so stupid when the other parties ragequits and walks out. Like he gives a fuck.
hairyknees
March 19, 2015 at 09:52
Like people in Dota! FREE WIN OKES! 😛
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 10:00
Bwahahaha!
Ranting Raptor
March 19, 2015 at 10:25
yoh
Ranting Raptor
March 19, 2015 at 10:25
Zuma used his Ulti. Evade Questions.
*everyone rage quits*
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 19, 2015 at 09:35
Meh. Leave it alone now, it’s like making a Bladerunner sequel. I’ve always enjoyed HL, even the MP was kinda fun, but I just don’t get this veneration it has.
RinceThis
March 19, 2015 at 09:36
Gabe is so MAN a possessive AND a pronoun is used! “but he his idea includes multiplayer”
Admiral Chief
March 19, 2015 at 09:44
I’d play some Combine vs Rebels MP ANY DAY!!!
Mossel
March 19, 2015 at 11:32
Isn’t that just counter strike?
zeemonkeyman
March 19, 2015 at 12:23
Or Half Life Team Deathmatch…
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 09:46
The real problem with making Half Life 3 is giving Gordon Freeman a voice. It would be nice to hear him at least go “Yowch!” when some machine gun turret is turning him into chicken wire.
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:49
No need. Canon wise he is already a mute just like Chel.
Darren Peach
March 19, 2015 at 16:32
Just pretend he had throat cancer and you will get by.
Ranting Raptor
March 19, 2015 at 09:46
Multiplayer? Yeah please Keep HL3 then. Don’t make a Team Fortress style game where you have rebels vs combine vs aliens. Please no
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:53
Team Call of Half Life Field with free Hats.
hairyknees
March 19, 2015 at 09:53
WRONG!
Defense of the dead Half-Team Fortress Portal!
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:54
WRONG!
Final Call of Half Life 3!
hairyknees
March 19, 2015 at 09:56
FALSE!
Half-Life fantasy duty fortress!
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:57
NOT TRUE!
The Mighty Quest for Epic number 3!
hairyknees
March 19, 2015 at 10:06
OK YOU WIN!
Ranting Raptor
March 19, 2015 at 10:24
wtf did I start 0_o
Admiral Chief
March 19, 2015 at 10:18
3 way MP?
HL3 CONFIRMED!!
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 10:21
And the theme song will be Britneys’ 3!
Kagutsuchi
March 19, 2015 at 09:47
Zoe, I think you forgot to add the tag “I cry evertim”
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 09:49
I would just really really like to know HOW THE DAMN STORY ENDS!
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:50
Yeah 10+ year cliffhangers are getting old now.
hairyknees
March 19, 2015 at 09:54
THEY ALL DIE!
Pariah
March 19, 2015 at 10:06
Took a page from Game of Thrones I see.
Scruff304
March 19, 2015 at 13:44
It’s a full 5 man wh… Oh wait, wrong game…
z1n
March 19, 2015 at 09:54
Story comes out with multiple endings…
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 09:54
The Reapers invade earth early. Gordon Freeman is vaporized. He had a surprised look upon his face…
Viking Of Science
March 19, 2015 at 09:55
Reapers? I thought It was the Zerg…
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 09:56
No. Reapers.
Viking Of Science
March 19, 2015 at 09:58
No, The Scrin!
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 10:14
No. Reapers.
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:56
Screw that it was the Pig Aliens from Duke.
Johann
March 19, 2015 at 10:18
It is the Irken Empire!
Viking Of Science
March 19, 2015 at 09:54
Whatever you do, do not venture into Fanfiction for a satisfying ending…
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 09:55
Oh, I think Gordon and Alyx had some satisfying endings in them fanfiction…
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 09:56
You mean happy endings. 😛
HvR
March 19, 2015 at 11:09
Knowing internet fanboys I’m sure Gordon and a a few headcrabs also had more than one happy ending.
Dutch Matrix
March 19, 2015 at 11:16
The headcrab jumped, latching itself onto Gordon’s crowbar.
Freeman nearly went ‘hngh’ at the impact.
Mossel
March 19, 2015 at 11:30
hahaha!!
Admiral Chief
March 19, 2015 at 10:17
They don’t have to make HL3, just EPISODE 3!!!
Splooshypooh
March 19, 2015 at 10:27
So many upvotes for this!!!!
Mark Djisgod Lee-symons
March 19, 2015 at 13:32
exactly. they did a shenmue on us and left the story incomplete 🙁
HvR
March 19, 2015 at 11:13
Alyx become empress of the world, Barney and Gordon marries and adopts Combine-Human hybrid baby and everybody lives happily every after blowing their Christmas bonus on Steam sales.
Ech
June 26, 2015 at 09:51
Exactly, i dont give a shit if they just make a short movie, a comic or even a short book, I JUST WANNA KNOW HOW THE DAMN STORY ENDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ross Woofels Mason
March 19, 2015 at 09:58
I say good for Gabe. They made something classic and don’t want to ruin it, there are a lot of other game series out there that could of avoided having their good names dragged through the mud by subsequent sequels that were just cash in’s, failed attempts at delivering too much or just a cluster fuck of what the hell were they doing.
Titles that pop to mind Spyro the dragon, crash bandicoot, Sonic.
I think seeing a Half-life multiplayer game based in setting is possible, but doubt it would be anything more than multiplayer game and most certainly not titled half life 3.
Roman Blahynka
April 22, 2015 at 00:46
I have to disagree because nobody is crying for a “sequel”. Everybody just wants an “ending”. It was a great story with an amazing atmosphere and that is what has captured so many fans. Not the game mechanics, not the graphics or the interface used to control it. If Valve wants to explore new ways to make it special, why not, but there is just no way you can wrap up a single player story with a multiplayer game. At this point, there is no way Valve can hurt the Half-life franchise – if they’re not going to make an ending, they can’t care less and the franchise has already been dead for eight years. If they do make it, then considering the following it has, it will definitely earn its money back even if it’s not very good. But at least we’d get a closure. Anyway, if their team doesn’t have the will to develop it, they could at least sell the license or outsource. I’m getting sick of producers peddling their stories everywhere and then not finishing them. No f***ing proffesional honor whatsoever.
Royal Conquest
April 26, 2015 at 04:59
That’s EXACTLY how I feel
Royal Conquest
April 26, 2015 at 04:58
None of those series are really the same thing at all. They were all readily established by that point, and Spyro and Crash only got bad after their original developers sold their rights. Did you play Half Life 2, and the episodes? Don’t you want to know what happens next? Imagine you’re reading a really good book, and you’re nearing the end. You’re so excited to know what happens next. Only you get to the last few chapters, and it’s just a bunch of blank pages. How would you feel? Flash forward ten years later, everyone is still constantly talking about it, the author continues to give stupid hinting teases that those last few chapters will be written soon. Obviously it’s not world shattering, but it is frustrating and a huge let down.
Kromas is drunk with power!
March 19, 2015 at 10:00
On second read-through I believe the following applies to Gabe.
Grant [_G_] Hancock
March 19, 2015 at 10:29
The problem with Half Life is we were promised more… a lot more, and then Valve changed its mind, and without being clear on that with the community. They just left the franchise with fans waiting expectantly for episode 3. The story is incomplete. If HL2 had a satisfying ending there would be less demand for HL3.
Peter Pan
March 19, 2015 at 10:34
It will happen – eventually! When I’m 90, which is like, in 58 years time!!!
HvR
March 19, 2015 at 11:15
When enough virgin cheeseburgers have sacrificed to the all controlling AI hivemind SteamGaBeN
Decembermaloy
March 19, 2015 at 10:36
I can’t believe that NOBODY at Valve wants to make Half-Life 3 happen, not one team wants to bring it back to life. Multiplayer? Maybe they want a F2P Half Life MMO…
Matthew Holliday
March 19, 2015 at 11:05
i think its better to assume that many want to, but none can come up with a good enough “why” or “what”
why do they want to make it? what do they want to do with it? how will making it now, benefit valve in the long term, as opposed to releasing it later?
if they cant come up with a good enough pitch, Gaben wont let them.
Royal Conquest
April 26, 2015 at 05:01
…don’t they have any artistic integrity? Did they not write a story? They built their freaking empire off of it. What kind of asshole leaves that unfinished? Why does it have to benefit Valve in the long run, don’t they care at all about the people playing their games?
Matthew Holliday
April 27, 2015 at 15:22
the people playing their games have hyped it up to a point where they cant possibly meet expectations.
personally, ive never thought the game was THAT good, but the internet has hyped it to a point where even I want to see the game come out.
unless theyr actually actively developing the game, i dont think theyll have detailed drafts of the story, but they probably do have several storyboards and ideas hidden away in gabens drawer.
however, i do agree that they have a responsibility to release the games that people want to see. that the game is wanted, should be enough of a “why?” to warrant their attention.
Kensei Seraph
March 19, 2015 at 10:41
Half Life 3 might only be released once all the other 2 series games (Portal 2, Dota 2, etc) become old enough to warrant a release for them as well.
This way Valve can release a glorious Three Bundle (similiar to the Orange Bundle) with the third instalment of all their games in one package.
My other theory is that Half Life 3 will be released when everyone who wants it wants another game even more.
Now is there any news about Starcraft: Ghost yet?
Darren Peach
March 19, 2015 at 16:31
Starcraft: Ghost will never see the light of day. I read somewhere that it sucked when they did a internal analysis of it and canned it.
Pariah
March 19, 2015 at 10:43
https://pearlsofprofundity.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/carrot-on-a-stick-1.jpg
Chaos Lord Norm
March 19, 2015 at 10:58
That header.
Mossel
March 19, 2015 at 11:30
” But that doesn’t necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean.” …defuq
Mossel
March 19, 2015 at 11:35
I struggle to think that the writer of the Half Life story just stopped writing where episode two ends. Surely it must go on after that? Maybe it’s just not good enough? I suppose they got what they wanted though…people talking about the game years after it came out.
K1FF J1MB0B (sizzle edition)
March 19, 2015 at 12:32
Half-Life 1: Brilliant game.
Half-Life 2: Overrated.
Half-Life 3: Don’t care.
Ryanza
March 19, 2015 at 12:38
Don’t Support DRM. Cyberpunk 2077 is coming.
Mark Djisgod Lee-symons
March 19, 2015 at 12:59
hey valve how about you stop making hardware nobody cares about and actually make what you are good at…..games. steam was the worst thing to happen to valve as it took their focus off game making and shifted it toward deployment and hardware.
loftie
March 19, 2015 at 14:14
I just want the story to wrap up, hate it that we were left hanging at the end of HL2..
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 20:05
Agreed
Darren Peach
March 19, 2015 at 15:29
What a waste of space. Too rich to give a damn. Maybe if the fat sod lost a few pounds he would be more motivated.
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 20:04
He’s eating well XD
Ronin Gamer
March 19, 2015 at 18:22
The longer the wait the more likely it will be impossible to live up to expectations. They’ve backed themselves into a corner with this.
If they ever do another Portal they could cross it over and effectively close out Half-Life.
It’s possible that by the time HL3 comes out, the majority of players will have never played HL2 – real risky releasing a sequel to a game people are unfamiliar with.
Jackie
March 19, 2015 at 19:03
It makes sense. They’re not going to force themselves to make something they don’t necessarily want to make, especially since HL3 would have to bear the weight of the previous games and improve upon them. They left the ending to HL2 open ended just in case they did want to make a game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will, at least in Valve’s case.
I’d rather it ended gracefully and not like Halo when that game should’ve really ended at 3. Making HL3 when they don’t want to is like any other conracted developer – imaging producing games you don’t want to produce for a paycheck rather than doing it because you want to. Valve wants to put their effort into something they know they can see through till the end and do a good job of it rather than jsut doing it because other people want it.
Royal Conquest
April 26, 2015 at 05:05
The series is like three games long right now, and that’s putting the two episodes together to be one episode. That defeats the whole point of episodic releases, shorter games released more often. It doesn’t have to become Halo, Halo 3 was an excellent game. If it had ended at 3 it would have been fine. Same idea, at least let us have 3. Wrap it up. They didn’t just leave it open ended, they didn’t finish it. There’s a huge difference between having a vague ending where you get to fill in the blanks and a straight up cliffhanger.
Jackie
March 19, 2015 at 19:03
It makes sense. They’re not going to force themselves to make something they don’t necessarily want to make, especially since HL3 would have to bear the weight of the previous games and improve upon them. They left the ending to HL2 open ended just in case they did want to make a game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will, at least in Valve’s case.
I’d rather it ended gracefully and not like Halo when that game should’ve really ended at 3. Making HL3 when they don’t want to is like any other conracted developer – imaging producing games you don’t want to produce for a paycheck rather than doing it because you want to. Valve wants to put their effort into something they know they can see through till the end and do a good job of it rather than jsut doing it because other people want it.
Jackie
March 19, 2015 at 19:03
It makes sense. They’re not going to force themselves to make something they don’t necessarily want to make, especially since HL3 would have to bear the weight of the previous games and improve upon them. They left the ending to HL2 open ended just in case they did want to make a game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will, at least in Valve’s case.
I’d rather it ended gracefully and not like Halo when that game should’ve really ended at 3. Making HL3 when they don’t want to is like any other conracted developer – imaging producing games you don’t want to produce for a paycheck rather than doing it because you want to. Valve wants to put their effort into something they know they can see through till the end and do a good job of it rather than jsut doing it because other people want it.
Michael Matusowsky
March 19, 2015 at 19:34
HL2 had multiplayer though :/?
Hammersteyn
March 19, 2015 at 20:04
Yeah, and so did HL1. In fact Counterstrike was born from HL1 mods
Danbates_za
March 19, 2015 at 20:18
i wont lie, a co-op half life 3 with one being gordon and the other playing alyx would be awesome! ala dead space 3 style!
Cyberats
March 20, 2015 at 00:14
Half-Life was a break through in AI NPCs acting and a Unique story coupled with a GOOD shooting engine, unlike the mess that came after that from Valve like CS/BF/CoD.
HL3 would be awesome if it stays OFFLINE, a good campaign is all you need, you don’t need to compete with the latest & dumbest, most popular & expensive online MMO shooter.
Charl van der Merwe
March 20, 2015 at 07:46
YES! A Team based Half life Multiplayer AND DEATHMATCH with an Awesome Single player Experience! Be still my beating heart!
Nereus77
March 20, 2015 at 10:09
Half-Life 3! Half-Life 3! Half-Life 3! …… Sooo what you’re trying to say is there’s no news at all on the subject, correct?
B4d R0b0t
March 20, 2015 at 11:39
When Gaben says “is if a whole bunch of people just internally at Valve said they wanted to do it” you need to read the employee handbook big to understand what he really means : http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf
ElDoRado1239
April 8, 2015 at 21:50
This clearly confirms Half Life 3.
They just need time to perfect the cross-platform cross-time multiplayer that reflects in-game choices into their real lives.
Neil Mathieson
April 22, 2015 at 02:07
I want HL3, no matter what excuse they give for not serving the wants of their customer base.
Royal Conquest
April 26, 2015 at 04:51
Please he’s just another money hungry sonofabitch these days. Steam’s becoming as bad as Origin and Valve’s turning into another EA. >> We will never get Half Life 2 episode 3/Half Life 3/whatever because he knows he’s waited too long and let the hype build too high.
xSS
April 30, 2015 at 06:29
I come from the future, I invented a time travel machine just to tell you that Half-life 3 was just released today march 3 of 2033 at the 3:33 pm, exactly 3 years after the end of the WW 3. have hope my friends.
I don't see blue
May 14, 2015 at 02:36
A single player type campaign, with phase shifting multiplayer battles throughout. Like how WoW phase shifts quest lines, your teammates would phase shift from event to event based on you walking into a room, or open area or such, you’d phase into an area with a set number of available multiplayer slots, and people would just appear already in that zone, something like that is how I can see next-gen gaming head towards.
I could be totally wrong, but that’s how I’d like to imagine their vision would be. Tradition multiplayer in the form of group up on a party screen and enter the map is going to die.
Cliff Harald
June 6, 2015 at 14:26
It’s like writing a book series and leaving the last book and the conclusion out. But tbh, I don’t really give a flying fug anymore. It’s been 8 years and I’ve all but forgotten the majority of Episode 2.
Ech
June 26, 2015 at 09:50
Can anybody explain this ? “(…)if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we’ve learned in shipping Portal 2(…)” what did they learn with Portal 2? i mean… the game was really successful, what was wrong with it? the way i take it is like, Valve just want players, multiplayer games, microtransactions and server renting, but they dont seem interested on Single-Player campaigns anymore.
Handy
August 29, 2015 at 22:15
When DX12 and vulcan api, new game engines and such has settled in well, and with the new gpu´s featuring 16gb vram as a minimum we might have the tech which would be just what HL3 needs. the step from HL1 to HL2 was huge and it needs to be atleast as big from HL2 to HL3. And the next step has to be convincing and jaw dropping realism that will make your eyes pop out of your head. And lets not forget about “VR” That’s when HL3 should be made. And its not too far off i believe.