Half-Life 3 has been a source of anticipation, pain, and even hallucinations during the past decade. Some wonder if it even exists.
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell is the person to ask when it comes to anything Half-Life related. While he didn’t have any good news to share when asked by Washington Post about where Half-Life 3 is, he did provide some insight.
Gabe Newell shared:
So, if somebody becomes the group manager of X, they’re going to really resist it when X is not what you want to do in the next round of games. You don’t want them to sort of burrow into that – you want them to recognize that being really good at Half-Life level design is not as nearly as valued as thinking of how to design social multi-player experiences. You’ve had them feel like they have an organization and title tied up to something when the key is to just continue to follow where the customers are leading.
In essence, it’s the fault of gamers as a collective for Half-Life 3 not existing. The booming success of online gaming has spurred Valve to move in that direction. Games like Dota 2 and Left for Dead 2 have taken precedence.
Hope isn’t lost, though. There are ways for Valve to make Half-Life 3 a social experience, assuming it has no interest in single-player only games. Dark Souls provided some clever ways of initiating social connectivity during its experience. Also, Portal was 100% single-player focused while Portal 2 introduced the game’s clever mechanics to the co-op arena. Something similar could be brought to the world of Half-Life. It certainly has its share of puzzles.
When it comes down to it, the Half-Life games are some of Valve’s best-selling, and arguably their most successful. Half-Life 3 is in the cards, Valve just isn’t ready to reveal its plans to the public. The wait continues…
