Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx recently became available and scored big with critics. It’s the first title in the series to be in VR but also the first major single-player game from Valve in a long time. The team was composed of about 80 developers, making it the company’s biggest yet, and members of Campo Santo were included.

The kicker is that Campo Santo, which was acquired by Valve in 2018, had halted its own project In the Valley of Gods to work on Half-Life: Alyx. So with the latter out, is the team back to working on the first person adventure? Not quite. Former member Chris Remo, who’s now a designer at Valve, spoke to PCGamesN and said that In the Valley of Gods is “on hold for the time being.”

“We were working on it when those of us from Campo Santo came up to Valve, and something we found over time was, in contrast to working on that game, Valve was a place with a lot of teams, a lot of projects, a lot going on.”

As per Remo, there wasn’t a “particular moment or decision” as such that resulted in this. Different people just began working on other things. Remo noted that, “I worked on Underlords for a bit. I’ve been working on Half-Life: Alyx now for a while. We just eventually came to a conclusion as a team like, ‘Oh, it looks like we’re all kind of working on other stuff right now. Let’s put this thing on hold for a bit and figure out over time what that means.’ Really, that was about it.”

It does create some uncertainty for the future of In the Valley of Gods, which looked to be another strong narrative in the vein of Firewatch. Nevertheless, all we can do is wait and see if Campo Santo decides to return to it. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

It’s been about two years now since Campo Santo announced their next game, In the Valley of Gods. The game was their follow up after the interesting Firewatch narrative adventure game. Since then we haven’t heard much, and the company was acquired by Valve in that time period. Since then, Half-Life: Alyx was announced. We’ve known that Campo Santo was involved in some capacity, though it wasn’t clear to what degree. Well, whatever it may be, it’s enough to put their own game on the back burner.

A statement was given to Polygon from Campo Santo Co-founder Jake Rodkin where he confirmed that the game was now “on hold.” He doesn’t give any kind of time frame for when to expect the game to be back in development, but does confirm that the studio was assisting with Half-Life: Alyx, as well as other areas within Valve, which contributed to the game’s status.

“To fans looking forward to In the Valley of Gods, it’s probably clear that the optimistic “2019” at the end of the announcement trailer isn’t going to be accurate. In the end, Valve Time makes fools of us all. But yes, developers from the former Campo Santo team have joined other projects at Valve, including Half-Life: Alyx. As you can imagine, our experience in the first-person adventure genre is pretty relevant. You hear a lot about how at Valve you can work on what you want. It turns out that’s true, and there’s a lot of work available. As we integrated ourselves into Valve it became clear there was a lot of valuable work to be done on Half-Life: Alyx. Some of us starting lending a hand, and have since become full-time on the project as it approaches launch. Similarly, some ex-Campos are working on Dota Underlords, some are on Steam, and so on. So to answer your question as of today, In the Valley of Gods development is on hold—but it certainly feels like a project people can and may return to. And when that happens, we’ll find an exciting way to let fans know.”

You can’t help but wonder if we’ll ever see In the Valley of Gods now. It’s hard to say, but hopefully we will once Half-Life: Alyx launches in March of 2020 since Firewatch was a fun title with a lot of potential. Only time will tell.

But, and here’s the rub—VR hasn’t actually taken off yet. There’s a whole slew of reasons it hasn’t, but the most obvious one is that there hasn’t been any reason for people to spend money on a VR set. These things cost hundreds of dollars, on top of an expensive console, PC, or phone you already need to run them—so you better have a good reason to spend money on them. 

So far, that reason… hasn’t existed? Don’t get me wrong, Resident Evil 7 and Skyrim are amazing in VR, and Superhot is transcendental. But every single one of those games can also be played without VR. Sure, VR probably maximizes immersion—but is that extra immersion worth hundreds of dollars? Probably not. And yes, there’s Astro Bot, and it’s a bespoke VR exclusive that truly shows you what you can do with VR design, and is an amazing, acclaimed game. But unfortunately, Sony’s critical failure with Astro Bot is that it’s a brand new IP. 

When you’re pushing a dramatic new kind of technology, that’s expensive to buy into, you need to incentivize people to spend money on it, and people are likelier to do it when they’re at least somewhat familiar with what they’re getting into. It was Super Mario 64 that sold the potential of the analog stick, it was Final Fantasy VII that sold the potential of CDs, it was Halo 2 that sold the potential of online console gaming. In all these cases, it was a new take on an existing, beloved property that finally got people to jump on. VR hasn’t had that yet—there hasn’t been a great new game in an existing franchise that is VR only. You can play some beloved games ALSO in VR, and you can play great games ONLY in VR—but you can’t play a new take on a beloved game only in VR. 

Which is why I think the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx will be our first look at the true market potential of VR. Here we are—a brand new take on an existing IP (one of the most beloved ones, at that, and one people have been waiting for a new game from for over a decade now), coming exclusively to VR. If this doesn’t spur VR adoption, what will?

Early indications appear to be that this will indeed end up spurring VR adoption. As of earlier this week, sales of Valve’s Index had spiked, and the headset was sold out and back ordered. And the most interesting part of this is that the Index isn’t needed to play Half-Life: Alyx—almost any VR headset, most of which are far cheaper than the Index, will do. One has to assume that sales of other headsets have also similarly spiked, if not more so. 

The question now is if this spike will persist. Obviously, this depends on a lot of things—price drops for VR sets will make them more palatable for the mass market, as an example, and follow up VR exclusives should surely see some sustenance of this surge in interest in the format. So is this it? Is this VR’s breakthrough moment? When it finally makes itself known as the future of gaming?

My answer is, no it’s not. Because there will never be such a moment. VR is NOT the future of gaming. It is A future, absolutely. I think it’s here to stay, and it will continue to grow, and offer loads of amazing games and experiences in the future. Some of the most immersive entertainment experiences ever will presumably be offered by VR only in the future. But anyone who thinks VR will ever replace traditional gaming, or even that it will become mainstream to any meaningful degree, is deluding themselves. 

The truth is, that will never happen. There are many reasons for that—cost (which will come down) and content (which we are seeing being offered now) can be fixed, but the other problems are too limiting. Families can buy a console and all sit together in the living room and enjoy a game or two there. Very few want to buy a VR headset that shuts them out from the world entirely. Yes, I know VR permits a kind of social experience that other technology does not permit—but you’re not getting past the initial barrier of convincing people to wear a headset and move dorky looking controllers around. Remember how Google Glass, in spite of its undeniably “the future is here” cool appeal, couldn’t gain traction? And that was a pair of (admittedly bulky) glasses. Do you really think a headset will fare better?

Speaking of Google, let’s talk about that. After five years, and pushes from some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Facebook, Google, Samsung, HTC, Valve, and Sony, VR failed to gain traction. PSVR bundles at $200 with 5-6 games included don’t even move the needle. The fundamental fact that VR enthusiasts fail to account for is that VR is too intimidating for the mainstream. Your standard family will willingly purchase a game console and even maybe play games together, but no one wants to purchase a big headset that shuts them out from the world. VR is the culmination of the “fads” so to say that failed to catch on in the last ten years. Motion controls (Wii)? Full body tracking (Kinect)? 3D (PS3, 3DS)? Yes, I know that in practice VR is nothing like those, and far beyond whatever proposition they offered. But again, the fundamental barrier is convincing the mainstream that that’s true, and the only way to do that is to get them to try it, and there we run into the barrier of getting them to put on that headset again. 

So what’s the takeaway here? You’re probably getting mixed signals based on what I’ve said, but my end message is remarkably consistent—Half-Life:Alyx will be VR’s first (of many) big moment, and cause a surge of interest in the format. VR will probably start taking off following Alyx’s release in a way it simply hasn’t so far. It will be far more successful and prevalent. However, those expecting it to replace consoles, and/or ever be “mainstream” in any meaningful capacity are in for a rude awakening. VR is too exclusionary for it to ever take root amongst the masses. It will always continue to exist and be successful and offer unique and great experiences you can’t find anywhere else—but it will never be ubiquitous. 

And that’s okay. 

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer may not be all that interested in getting VR to run on the upcoming Xbox Scarlett, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate the format at all. In fact, on Twitter, responding to a fan complaining about his recent remarks about VR, Spencer revealed he already got to play Half-Life: Alyx earlier this year – and that he found it amazing.

Responding to a fan, he admits that he may have seemed dismissive about VR, but that he admires it, as well as all other technical innovation occurring in the games industry right now, before revealing that he’s played Alyx already, and he enjoyed it greatly.

Half-Life: Alyx, of course, is the upcoming new entry in the Half-Life universe – the first in almost 15 years – which launches exclusively for PC VR headsets supporting the SteamVR standard next year (something that has made a lot of folks fundamentally opposed to VR unhappy). Given Valve’s breaking of new ground with every previous Half-Life game, I am fully confident they will blaze the trail again with Half-Life: Alyx and VR. And Spencer’s comments only serve to reinforce that confidence.

Fair feedback. I've said publically, I love how our industry has pioneered: AI, physics, 3D, RT, VR/AR etc. For us, it's about focus on our innovations right now. I've played some great VR games, I got to play HL:Alyx in the summer, amazing. It's just not our focus with Scarlett

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) November 27, 2019

Campo Santo’s critically acclaimed first person adventure title Firewatch is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch on December 17th. Having first released in February 2016, Firewatch was acclaimed for its narrative direction, character development, and visual aesthetics. It’s currently available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Firewatch will be available on the Nintendo eShop for North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. It remains to be seen how the game will perform, and whether it takes advantage of the Switch in interesting ways. Regardless, having yet another indie classic on the go is a good thing indeed.

Campo Santo has been busy with other things in the past year. Its next narrative-focused adventure title In The Valley of Gods was unveiled at The Game Awards 2017. The developer was also acquired by Valve (which itself released its first new game in years with Artifact). There haven’t been many updates about In The Valley of Gods, but perhaps next week’s The Game Awards 2018 will offer something?

Firewatch is coming to Nintendo Switch on December 17th! We'll be in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Japan eShops. pic.twitter.com/BJvPnTd4KU

— Campo Santo (@camposanto) December 1, 2018

Campo Santo, known for its critically acclaimed first person narrative-driven adventure Firewatch, has recently been purchased by Valve. The rather surprising announcement was revealed in a blog post over the weekend when the studio noted that it would shift to Bellevue, Washington.

There aren’t many changes at this point – the blog noted that the studio “maintain our jobs as video game developers”. To that, you can still expect its next game In the Valley of Gods to ship in 2019. Those who thought that joining with Valve would affect the game’s launch for consoles, Campo Santo said on Twitter that it wouldn’t. Thus far, In the Valley of Gods has only been announced for PC.

What motivated the desire to join the Half-Life and Portal developer? According to Campo Santo, “We had a series of long conversations with the people at Valve and everyone shared the satisfaction we take in working with people whose talents dwarf our own to make things we never thought possible.

“Both sides spoke about our values and how, when you get right down to it, we, as human beings, are hard-limited by the time we have left when it comes to making the things we care about and believe in.”

Valve revealed recently that it would begin shipping games once more after many years of managing Steam, supporting competitive titles like Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: GO, and constantly denying that Half-Life 3 was in development. Perhaps Campo Santo joining the studio could factor into that plan? Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

Nope!

— Campo Santo (@camposanto) April 21, 2018

Campo Santo announced today through its Twitter that the hit narrative game Firewatch will be making its way to Nintendo’s hybrid powerhouse sometime this Spring, allowing players, new and old to experience the beautiful vistas and compelling story anytime, anywhere.

First released in February 2016 on PC and PS4, and later on Xbox One, the game has a variety of Metacritic scores depending on what platform you look at, with the most compelling being the PC version with 65 reviews sitting at a solid 81%.

The game sees players take the role of an unnamed man who takes a job deep within the empty wilderness of Wyoming, alone all summer with the job of spotting fires. How he’s effected by the job and the bond he forms with his one connection, his supervisor Delilah is the crux of the game. Are you going to check the game out? Let us know in the comments.

Soon, take the Wyoming wilderness with you. Firewatch is coming to your Nintendo Switch. https://t.co/rCbbB4rulF pic.twitter.com/pM7nf6XauZ

— Campo Santo (@camposanto) April 5, 2018

We hadn’t heard too much from developer Campo Santo, who brought us the incredible Firewatch in 2016, until The Game Awards. It was announced that the developer’s next project is In The Valley of The Gods, an adventure title set in Egypt. Check out the announcement trailer below.

In The Valley of The Gods takes place in a valley (surprising, we know) within the Egyptian desert. Players will be looking for treasure and unearthing a discovery that could either lead to great fame or lead to them dead. If Firewatch taught us anything though, it’s that there’s probably more to the initial story than first glance.

Either way given how Campo Santo’s last game handled characters and their interactions with each other, we’re looking forward to In The Valley of The Gods. The only caveat is that we’ll have to wait until 2019 to get our hands on the game. Expect to see it arrive on Xbox One and PS4 though the PC version has only been confirmed till now. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Campo Santo’s Firewatch has done fairly well since launching early last year. So well in fact that it managed to sell more than one million copies before 2016 ended.

The news was confirmed on the developer’s official Twitter. “Sometime late last year we sold our one millionth copy of Firewatch. Thank you all so much!”

Firewatch first released on PS4 and PC but made its way to Xbox One later in the year. The game’s narrative and choices were a highlight along with the characters and graphics. This is despite initial performance issues. Over time, the developer managed to add a free roam mode to allow players to explore the environment without any story pressure.

What are your thoughts on the success of Firewatch? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information on what Campo Santo could be doing next (which is hopefully a sequel to Firewatch).

What is Campo Santo’s Firewatch? Along with being a compelling first person adventure, it’s also a gorgeous exploration game of sorts. To help facilitate the exploration aspects, the developer has released a new patch that introduces Free Roam. Now you can wonder around the mode on PS4 and PC (the Xbox One version already received it) without any pressure.

Free Roam doesn’t have any objectives and still follows a real-time day-night cycle. Of course, you have to complete the story first after which it can be found under the Special Features section. The PC version of the patch also issues a fix for the Xbox One controller’s D-pad not functioning on Windows 10.

What are your thoughts on Free Roam in Firewatch? What are your thoughts on the series in general and whether it should receive some kind of follow up? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.