It was Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary recently and Valve didn’t so much as tease a sequel (Valve)
Yet another Half-Life 3 rumour is making waves amongst fans, but there remains no sign of any actual announcement.
You can typically expect rumours of Half-Life 3’s existence to crop up at least once a year, especially after the release of Half-Life: Alyx proved Valve hadn’t completely forgotten or abandoned the series.
However, things really ratcheted up this past August, thanks to a voice actor’s CV referencing a Project White Sands and datamined information from other Valve games that pointed towards real movement on a new game.
While the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 came and went last week with no big announcements (besides some behind the scenes info on Valve’s plans for Half-Life 2: Episode Three), YouTuber Tyler McVicker has put out a new video with what he believes is further evidence of Half-Life 3’s existence.
McVicker has made frequent claims regarding Half-Life 3 in the past, such as a cancelled build of the game from 2015, but he was among the first to leak details on Valve’s upcoming multiplayer shooter Deadlock (or Citadel as it was originally known).
According to McVicker, recent updates to Valve’s current titles – Deadlock, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2 – include details and files he is convinced are related to a new Half-Life game.
These include systems that have been lifted from Half-Life 2 but have been slightly amended, such as types of sounds that non-player characters (like enemies) can react to.
An entirely new shotgun sound was also found in Valve’s Source 2 engine, which McVicker theorises means Valve is running gun testing ‘at a very low level.’
Perhaps the biggest discovery is that, in the latest Dota 2 update, datamining uncovered references to something called Arty. McVicker explains Arty was a cancelled project that would have allowed for procedural destruction.
Given how many Arty files were found, McVicker calls it ‘as close as you can get to source code without it being source code.’ He also feels confident that it’s being used for Half-Life 3 since there was some speculation that similar files found previously in the Source 2 engine would be used in Deadlock, but that wound up not being the case.
Assuming McVicker is correct, Valve seems to be prioritising innovating Half-Life 3’s gameplay over its graphics. Half-Life 2 already featured incredibly detailed physics, which were praised at the time, so it’d make sense for Valve to focus on building upon that aspect for a sequel.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two was not the end (Valve)
Plus, Valve president Gabe Newell himself has admitted Half-Life 2: Episode Three didn’t happen because he didn’t think it was worth it unless they could come up with new gameplay features that could push things forward.
With the datamined files pointing to enhanced interactivity between non-player characters and procedural destruction, McVicker suggests Half-Life 3 could have *immersive sim* elements (we hate that term but think games like Arkane’s Dishonored and Deathloop).
However, McVicker doesn’t think this means Half-Life 3 will be a full immersive sim. He also doesn’t think it will be open world, like some have speculated, and instead claims it’ll be more akin to Uncharted 4 (or indeed Half-Life 2), and feature linear levels with smaller open areas.
While there’s no telling if or when Valve will lift the lid on any new Half-Life projects, it feels like the series is set to continue thanks to the success of Half-Life: Alyx.
After its release, Valve designer Phil Co even expressed optimism for Half-Life’s future: ‘This ice has been broken, now we’re hoping to smash through the ice completely. We’re not afraid of Half-Life no more.’
The problem with Half-Life rumours is not that they’re not true – McVicker is a reliable and conscientious source – but that Valve constantly experiments with new ideas, starts a new project, and then abandons it after a few months or years.
So while they may be making Half-Life 3 now, there’s no guarantee they still will be by next year… before they then get a new idea and begin an entirely new experiment. Maybe one day Valve will actually finish and realise a new game but it’s been 20 years so far and they still haven’t got there yet.
Any Half-Life 3 probably wouldn’t be in VR, but we wouldn’t say no to another Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
Half-Life 3 rumours continue thanks to newest Valve datamines