Twelve years after its initial development was canceled, Half-Life 3 may finally be a reality. New information is coming our way about the title, and it's potentially excellent. According to Tyler McVicker, a renowned Valve insider, the long-awaited game is not only in active development under the codename HLX, but more importantly playable in its entirety, from start to finish.
In development for over a decade, abandoned and then revived several times, Half-Life 3 has long been considered a video game pipe dream. If McVicker's information is confirmed, fans may finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. In a question and answer video posted on YouTube, he states that the game is almost ready. It is reportedly not only being tested by colleagues, but is also entering the fine-tuning phase at Valve's studios.
Gabe Newell's company has a habit of "shadowdropping" its projects, that is, releasing them without warning, so Half-Life 3 could well be released before the end of the year without any prior notice. After all, this surprise formula has already proven successful for Counter-Strike 2 and Deadlock, but Valve also has a unique opportunity to seize: taking advantage of the delay of GTA VI to make Half-Life 3 the legendary release of 2025.
According to McVicker, Half-Life 3 is well on its way to being announced this summer, perhaps during the fast-approaching Summer Game Fest. As for its release date, the studio is unsurprisingly aiming for the end of the year, or even the beginning of the next. The leaker seems to believe that the title will be available this winter to warm our hearts.
VR or not VR?
Contrary to what some feared, the game will not be in virtual reality, unlike Half-Life: Alyx, the previous opus released in 2020. The title would use a procedural generation system inspired by Left 4 Dead 2, not to modify the levels themselves, but to adapt the layout of enemies, objects and NPCs dynamically, thus promising good replayability without sacrificing the narrative. On the latter, he states:
“HLX is being tested so religiously and on such a large scale that there are bound to be people willing to talk. Personally, I have a policy of avoiding any story-related questions or information as much as possible, and so I have avoided them all. But reliable people have offered it to me, and I know some of my contemporaries have received it; in fact, there is some information about the plot…””
He hints that Chell, the heroine of the Portal series, might make an appearance in Half-Life 3, reinforcing the theory of a shared universe between the two franchises. As for Portal 3, Erik Wolpaw, Valve's longtime writer, would like to "do it more than anything", but that would depend on the fate of Half-Life 3 and possible internal departures.
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