For all the change that the games industry has gone through, one thing that has remained constant is people demanding a full-fledged Half-Life 3, and Valve doing little to nothing in response to those demands. After the 2020 launch of the excellent Half-Life: Alyx, many assumed that new numbered game in the series was (at long last) inevitable – especially given how Alyx ends – but it would appear that that’s not quite the case.
In a video uploaded recently by noted Valve insider Tyler McVicker, it’s been claimed that a Half-Life 3 is currently not in development at Valve. According to McVicker, Valve is putting the bulk of its focus on the Steam Deck, which, it seems, is promising greater success than Valve had expected. As such, the company is focused primarily on pushing the device further.
Interestingly, as part of the company’s bid to bolster the Steam Deck, one game that Valve is said to be working on is a project called Citadel. According to McVicker, this is a co-op FPS/RTS hybrid based on Half-Life, with Left 4 Dead and Alien Swarm also said to be influences on the game.
As is the case with any leak, take this one with a grain of salt- but Half-Life fans sadly wouldn’t be surprised if Valve was indeed deciding not to finally make a direct long-anticipated sequel to Half-Life 2: Episode Two.
The Steam Deck, meanwhile, was recently delayed, and is now set to launch in select regions of the world in February 2022.