Half Life 3 (Kinda) Confirmed Dead

cthulhuiscool

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Stumbled across this article:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/19/gabe-newell-discusses-possibility-of-half-life-3

Newell:
The only reason we'd go back and do like a super classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people just internally at Valve said they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why [they did].

But you know if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we've learned in shipping Portal 2 and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we'll keep moving forward. But that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean.

Though I'm not entirely sure what he is referring to when he speaks about what they "learned" from the Portal 2 release, his words seem to indicate there is little to no momentum toward the development of new games like HL3, and that it would take a huge (and unlikely) internal push for them to actually make it. Bit of a bummer, but after 7.5 years with no word, I don't think it can come as THAT much of a surprise.

Anyway what do you guys think, am I reading into his words too much?
 
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On the link provided, basically he said " we make tons of easy money with Steam, you've got any idea what's it like to work?!? Shipping Portal 2 with working multiplayer was a pain in the ass"
 
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Any article nowadays even remotely related to HL3 is just click bait. HL3 is as dead as Ed Hardy shirts.
 
Half-Life 1 and 2 were both amazing games, including their expansion packs. I really don't care much for anticipating Half-Life 3 but if they do develop and release it, then i'll most definitely buy it.
 
So he mentioned this a couple times and went into length during the big tour of the new valve studios a couple years ago.

With few exceptions each title is a group effort, it's in the hand book. To do most titles someone has to come up with a plan and get x people to sign off on joining the project, then it's brought to gabe to vote on going forward. Gabe said he has not been handed a script for the story that would motivate him to move forward yet. As soon as he does he'd jump on it. The only exception is Dota 2, Gabe was the major pusher for Dota2. He no if and or buts said "WE MUST DO THIIISSS" and pushed it every step of the way. He was very obsessed with Dota 2 early on. He was an avid player but I'm not sure how much he plays anymore.

No Valve is two companies now, game and tech development then Steam platform. Gabe isn't really involved in Steam direction anymore it's his partner I forget the guys name. Unless something stupid like the Hatred nonsense is brought to his attention.

Portal 3 and Left4Dead 3 are known to be in production. I expect a reveal in the next quarter or two. There was a leaked space game they were working on for a while but it may have gotten canceled. valve had a shake up two years ago because a lot of the engineers couldn't handle the more liberal direction the company was taking.

I'm comfortable saying Half-life 3 is always in production tools and assets wise but I doubt they have anything more than concept stuff being worked on right now.

Sadly Gabe is currently obsessed with attacking Microsoft propriety stuff like directx and xbox. Hes way to focused on the stupid steambox stuff and I think he's waging battle a bit out of his league. I wish he'd go back to focusing on the games.
 
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There is without a doubt going to be SOME Half Life game SOME time in the future, but I honestly think that the internet would explode when it gets announced. I was already anticipating it 2 weeks ago when they announced their VR and release date for Steam Machines.

March (03) 3rd, @ 3pm...

But no such announcement made. Gabe knows as does Valve's developers that there is a enormous amount of people out there that want a Half Life game... but it's entirely up to them when it'll happen...

Here is what I propose... we start up a kickstarter or Gofundme to make a proper sequel to HL2... and give all the money to the guys who made Black Mesa Source which was a phenomenal recreation of Half Life.

http://www.blackmesasource.com/
 
I guess we will have to resort to fan fiction for the ending now. My guess is Gordon finds some crazy gun in the Borealis and destroys the rest of the combine on Earth with it since they are cut off from their homeworld.
 
There is without a doubt going to be SOME Half Life game SOME time in the future, but I honestly think that the internet would explode when it gets announced. I was already anticipating it 2 weeks ago when they announced their VR and release date for Steam Machines.

March (03) 3rd, @ 3pm...

But no such announcement made. Gabe knows as does Valve's developers that there is a enormous amount of people out there that want a Half Life game... but it's entirely up to them when it'll happen...

Here is what I propose... we start up a kickstarter or Gofundme to make a proper sequel to HL2... and give all the money to the guys who made Black Mesa Source which was a phenomenal recreation of Half Life.

http://www.blackmesasource.com/
Haha, I assume you're just trying to remind Valve we're interested in HL3 because that KS would be shut down as soon as it started since Valve has the rights to HL.

I didn't expect a HL3 announcement on 3\3, but that would have been pretty funny if they did it. :D
 
No reasons to make a third Half-Life?
GTFOH!

Did they completely change out their old employee list?

Too lazy? What about the millions and millions of Half-life and Half-Life 2 fans?
The revenue for Half-Life 3 would be insane. Now that PC's have the ability to run Frostbite 4 engine and other engines similar, the graphics of the game would be like none other.

This is what happens when companies find easier ways of making money, they lose the interest and passion they had that made them join the industry. I'm very disappointed in this.
 
It's probably best to listen to the podcast where this comment came from, for a better perspective.
Gabe and Erik Johnson were interviewed.
They also talked about quite a few other interesting things.

https://soundcloud.com/gameslice/valve

5:30 - Why Valve Moved Into Hardware
9:06 - Valve's Electronics Plant
10:45 - Valve's Hardware Workshop?
12:05 - Titanium vs. Plutonium
13:43 - Erik on the Valve Hardware
16:11 - Valve's Forward Investing
19:10 - Linux vs. Windows
24:31 - Gabe on VR
32:40 - Erik on VR
34:50 - Will Valve Make VR Content?
46:42 - Source 2 Plans
38:46 - When Will Valve Make Another game?
44:18 - The Voice Workshop?
46:45 - Mobile vs VR
53:13 - DOTA Driven by the Fans
57:12 - Gabe's Toughest Decision

BTW, that comment is said in the 'When Will Valve Make Another game?' section.
 
Great "we know best" admission from the interview:
I dunno, for me, and I think for Gabe, that's a really great way to know if things are going well or not, cause we're pretty confident that if a bunch of people from Valve are willing to invest their time in it, it's probably a good proxy to what customers what us to do... yep yep, absolutely
 
No reasons to make a third Half-Life?
GTFOH!

Did they completely change out their old employee list?

Too lazy? What about the millions and millions of Half-life and Half-Life 2 fans?
The revenue for Half-Life 3 would be insane. Now that PC's have the ability to run Frostbite 4 engine and other engines similar, the graphics of the game would be like none other.

This is what happens when companies find easier ways of making money, they lose the interest and passion they had that made them join the industry. I'm very disappointed in this.

Half Life was big back then, but even HL2 sales are not impressive by today's standards. Obviously a HL3 would sell better than 1/2 even if it is only mediocre because games simply sell more these days. But Half Life is just not as relevant as it was a decade ago.
 
Half Life as a continued story from Valve is dead. Gabe sounds like an old and slightly bitter guy over the gaming communities jokes on that topic. I think he's being salty. Steam makes them a fuck ton of money and is about to break into a whole new marketplace and likely dominate it. Why make games anymore? What's the point for them? They don't need the money. Gamers are largely giant assholes obsessing over what developers are doing to "their" games. Gamers have a huge sense of entitlement that is a major turn off to a big company like Valve. Why not just keep a platform going that people enjoy using? Why wade back into the hyper critical and anger filled hatesphere that gaming has become?

I'm just going to say this. I DO NOT WANT HALF LIFE 3. I want Valve to fix the issues on the Steam platform. I want greenlight to disappear , its a garbage heap. I want MUCH better customer service from Valve. I want continued development of community generated content. I don't want big sequels. I just want Valve to keep improving Steam and themselves. I would love if they handed off Left 4 Dead to someone and kept that going.

Half Life was a great gaming series. Portal was a great gaming series. Team Fortress and Counter Strike are great and will continue to be great. We don't need sequels from Valve as they are more than a developer.

Gabe's heart obviously isn't into the passion of game development anymore and that's fine. He's an adult and allowed to change his opinions. I would rather have a passionate developer who actually enjoys making games then a bitter asshole who wants everyone to know that the game they want from he/she/them will come if they deem it worthy of coming. A perfect example is Phil Fish. I loved Fez , beautiful game , good puzzles but his attitude and entitlement plus his absolute lack of social conduct made him into a social media monster.

I want developers who actually enjoy their jobs not miserable people who make games because they feel they "have to" or just want a "job". Gaming is art and forcing art always produces shitty results.
 
Like Half Life 3 would be able to meet the expectations or current climate of the game industry anyways. Valve doesn't need to do it nor should they, considering how everyone just fawns over Half Life 2, just let it die already.
 
@Godmachine
I'm in the same boat as you. At this point I don't think the people who stay with valve are passionate about game development, and hey from a business standpoint that probably makes sense. I would like them to consider contracting out the development of their franchises so that we can still get enjoyment from them, and valve can rake it the dough while continuing to do little to no work. Win Win.
 
Valve's focus is growing/expanding steam and pc gaming's scope.

Half life 3 doesn't really fit in when you take a glimpse at the numbers generated by counterstrike or dota 2 on a daily basis. I doubt valve even cares about the sales numbers hl3 would bring, they care more about bringing more people to steam and keeping them there.

Constant updates, replayablity and user generated content doesn't work so much with half life as it will with l4d3 or even portal 3.
 
Half Life was big back then, but even HL2 sales are not impressive by today's standards. Obviously a HL3 would sell better than 1/2 even if it is only mediocre because games simply sell more these days. But Half Life is just not as relevant as it was a decade ago.


Half-life - 9.3 million copies sold
Half-life 2- 12 million copies sold


2014's GOTY Dragon Age Inquisition- 1.4 million copies sold.
Grand Theft Auto III 7.9 million
Resident Evil 9 million


With the original Half-life total sales beating all PS3 individual game sales except Gran Turismo 5, I'd say that is quite impressive.

With Half-Life 2 being tied with Diablo 3 in best selling PC game ever. I'd say that's still quite impressive.

Other than Diablo 3 and Minecraft, no PC game has come close to the games sold that Half-life 2 has done.


Any game publisher would love to sell a sum of 15-17+ million copies in a two game series.


So I highly disagree with you.
 
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Half-life - 9.3 million copies sold
Half-life 2- 12 million copies sold


2014's GOTY Dragon Age Inquisition- 1.4 million copies sold.
Grand Theft Auto III 7.9 million
Resident Evil 9 million


With the original Half-life total sales beating all PS3 individual game sales except Gran Turismo 5, I'd say that is quite impressive.

With Half-Life 2 being tied with Diablo 3 in best selling PC game ever. I'd say that's still quite impressive.

Other than Diablo 3 and Minecraft, no PC game has come close to the games sold that Half-life 2 has done.


Any game publisher would love to sell a sum of 15-17+ million copies in a two game series.


So I highly disagree with you.

That is nice. You're comparing a game which has been out for over a decade with one that came out a few months ago. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, Mass Effect 3 sold 3.5 million copies in three days. Release was on March 6 2012:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/09/mass-effect-ships-3-5-million-worldwide-890-000-sold-in-na-swt/
 
That is nice. You're comparing a game which has been out for over a decade with one that came out a few months ago. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, Mass Effect 3 sold 3.5 million copies in three days. Release was on March 6 2012:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/09/mass-effect-ships-3-5-million-worldwide-890-000-sold-in-na-swt/



You're defending only one of the many that I've compared and exampled ?
lolololol.

And if you think Dragon Age Inquisition has a chance to sell as much as either game, you're very wrong.
Are you saying a game sells more copies it's second year and up than in it's first year? uh no.
0_o

Mass effect sold that much in 3 days, oh boy!

If you're not trolling me, you're incompetent. My point was to show that the "Total Sales" of a '"Decade Old Game"(Half Life 2) is still impressive.

k thanks.
 
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Definitely reading too much into it. Hl3 isn't dead. Simply too lucrative of an opportunity to pass up even for a business like valve. They'd trash their reputation if they made a shit game and released it for money but they'd still gets tons of cash. No matter how principled they are they'd do that.

And, it would be too easy to just do hl2.1 and then add vr support and have everyone laud it for even that aforementioned moneygrab to not happen.

It's basically impossible hl3 doesn't release at some point. It's also basically impossible it sets precedents like hl1 and hl2 did but that's unlikely to happen anymore regardless. The industry is simply too big for individuals to have such a striking impact.
 
"But you know if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we've learned in shipping Portal 2 and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we'll keep moving forward. But that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean"

I've read that quote a few times now and have no idea what it means...what's he trying to say?
 
The industry is simply too big for individuals to have such a striking impact.

Unless they release a game changer.

Half life was a game changer.

Instrad Instead of sticking to these AAA titles that have been rinsed and repeated over and over, they need something that has never been done before.

But essentially that statement is true.


When Modern Warfare came out, it was a game changer, now it's the arcade style fps that has been through the "rinse and repeat" method that I said.

Maybe a Half Life Online MMO?
lolol
 
Who even cares anymore at this point. The only reason Valve is still afloat is because Steam is just so god damn convenient.
 
You're defending only one of the many that I've compared and exampled ?
lolololol.

And if you think Dragon Age Inquisition has a chance to sell as much as either game, you're very wrong.
Are you saying a game sells more copies it's second year and up than in it's first year? uh no.
0_o

Mass effect sold that much in 3 days, oh boy!

If you're not trolling me, you're incompetent. My point was to show that the "Total Sales" of a '"Decade Old Game"(Half Life 2) is still impressive.

k thanks.

You're still missing the other part of his point. HL3 is so overhyped its hilarious. It will be hard pressed to live up to the expectations that gamers have now and still be a "Half Life" game which were all game changers.
 
You're defending only one of the many that I've compared and exampled ?
lolololol.

And if you think Dragon Age Inquisition has a chance to sell as much as either game, you're very wrong.
Are you saying a game sells more copies it's second year and up than in it's first year? uh no.
0_o

Mass effect sold that much in 3 days, oh boy!

If you're not trolling me, you're incompetent. My point was to show that the "Total Sales" of a '"Decade Old Game"(Half Life 2) is still impressive.

k thanks.

HL2's sales in the first year were less than ME3 (and many other modern games) sell in a few weeks. What used to be considered a good number of sales 10-15 years ago isn't today. It really isn't a hard concept to grasp. The same trend is true in other entertainment industries. A Half Life 3 would certainly sell, but it won't be in the same league as games like CoD or Assassin's Creed (Black Flag already sold over 11 million copies).
 
id be more than happy if they just came out and said thats it. the half life series is dead and gone.

no more guessing, no more beating around the bush, no more speculating about what kind of hellish limbo its in. its just dead, and thats it..
 
HL2's sales in the first year were less than ME3 (and many other modern games) sell in a few weeks. What used to be considered a good number of sales 10-15 years ago isn't today. It really isn't a hard concept to grasp. The same trend is true in other entertainment industries. A Half Life 3 would certainly sell, but it won't be in the same league as games like CoD or Assassin's Creed (Black Flag already sold over 11 million copies).

Too many people unfortunately are more worried about quantity than quality, Half Life and Half Life 2 are some of the greatest games ever made so if they'll never be a Half Life 3, then it'll be disappointing.
 
Stumbled across this article:


Anyway what do you guys think, am I reading into his words too much?

His words basically means,

"We are making more money off of steam, than we would make from developing games. And we don't care enough about gamers and fans of HL to actually lift a finger for them"
 
"But you know if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we've learned in shipping Portal 2 and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we'll keep moving forward. But that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean"

I've read that quote a few times now and have no idea what it means...what's he trying to say?

My guess is, if they do make another single player game, they will have to include the features they put in Portal 2 that they have found to work with the gaming community. For example, Portal 2 introduced co-op feature to what was originally a single player game (which is what Half Life franchise is too). If Valve found that the community were more interested in playing the game co-op, then that's something that they will have to do for their future games. That's my guess

In the interview, he stressed that the games they make will be build on what they've learn from the past and they will not "go all retro", and that was the lead in point to this quoted comment.

So I don't think he's saying they will absolutely not make another Half Life, but rather IF they do Half Life, they will not make one that is just more of the old Half Life.

IMO, the future of Half Life would really depend on what Valve can do with it, or if it happens to fit what Valve is doing at that time. This is because he did also said (prior to that quoted part) that you could think of the franchises as their tools, and they will pick the right tool for the technology that they are developing at that time. If they don't have any, then they'll have to make one. So whatever next franchise Valve will be doing, will have to suit the tech that they are developing at that time, (ie. Source 2 and VR)
 
Gabe just knows HL3 is too powerful for the human mind to comprehend. To look upon it will be like looking into the Ark of the Covenant. And that's before you even install the game.
 
HL2's sales in the first year were less than ME3 (and many other modern games) sell in a few weeks. What used to be considered a good number of sales 10-15 years ago isn't today. It really isn't a hard concept to grasp. The same trend is true in other entertainment industries. A Half Life 3 would certainly sell, but it won't be in the same league as games like CoD or Assassin's Creed (Black Flag already sold over 11 million copies).

What alternate reality are you in? Half-Life 3 wouldn't sell more than CoD or Assassins Creed? The guy that said half life 2 sold 12 million was actually going off of old numbers minus a few avenues. The real numbers are closer to 20 million. 20 FUCKING MILLIONS SALES. Hordes of new people have been introduced to the half life franchise since the release of half life 2 WHEN STEAM WAS BRAND NEW AND HATED AS A SERVICE. Steam is now loved and larger than who knows what it's alone on the mountain. Half Life 3 would break sales records as the PC as a games platform is exponentially bigger than when half life 2 released. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER HALF LIFE 2 RELEASED WHEN PEOPLE WERE SAYING THE PC IS DEAD. TODAY IS A VERY DIFFERENT BEAST COMPARED TO THEN. I WILL ALL CAPS YOU INTO THE GROUND IF YOU REFUTE THIS POST. ALL CAP ALL CAP ALL CAP ALL CAP..........
 
Need to take into account games like ME series were multiplatform day one. PS3, 360 and PC. When HL2 came to consoles it was 3 years after the PC release only thanks to The Orange Box. Being a mediocre port to the consoles didn’t help either.
 
I'm getting a little tired of seeing these hl3 threads.. no actual news and it seems like we're just getting more troll-bait from the gaben. He spends too much time on reddit, it seems. Those guys have an awful troll quality and downvoting sickness. :/
 
HL2's sales in the first year were less than ME3 (and many other modern games) sell in a few weeks. What used to be considered a good number of sales 10-15 years ago isn't today. It really isn't a hard concept to grasp. The same trend is true in other entertainment industries. A Half Life 3 would certainly sell, but it won't be in the same league as games like CoD or Assassin's Creed (Black Flag already sold over 11 million copies).

Flogger, stop fucking trolling. You are just consistently talking out of your ass. Do you have any idea how much PC gaming has grown in the last couple years? COD still sells, but to suggest that Half Life 3 couldn't contend with... blah blah blah doesn't make any sense. It's useless to compare a game like Half Life to Call of Duty. COD is fucking garbage. People nowadays from what I can tell only buy COD for the multiplayer and Half Life has never been about multiplayer.

Steam itself has 65 million users right now, and I was there when Steam launched. Half Life 2 released 11 years ago so accounting for inflation... Half Life 2 was and still is incredibly profitable. About 4 years ago Valve said that they sold 12 million copies of Half Life 2 but that doesn't even include Steam sales.

Look at this article from 3 months AFTER Half Life 2 released... in less than 2 months it sold 1.7 million copies through RETAIL which doesn't even include Steam sales...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news310105halflife2

You have to remember that Half Life 2 sold well on EVERY platform. PC retail, Steam, Linux, Mac, Xbox 360, PS3...

Haha, I assume you're just trying to remind Valve we're interested in HL3 because that KS would be shut down as soon as it started since Valve has the rights to HL.

I know Valve has the rights to Half Life, but that's why that team didn't call it Half Life HD or something... they merely called it Black Mesa Source. A proper game could be made without having to actually call it Half Life. Just call it Crowbar Simulator 3 for all I care. :p
 
I thought the whole point of Valve's weird management structure was that games get made when there's a critical mass of their own people who want to make them, regardless of sales forecasts or public pressure and mercifully free of all the crap we've come to expect from publicly traded publishers. Maybe no one there really cares about HL. How many people responsible for the original design and "story" are even still at the company?

As a company they don't seem in the slightest bit interested in developing first party titles any more. Much easier to let other people come up with the basic ideas, scoop them up, run them through the Valve polishing machine and watch the money roll in.
 
"But you know if you want to do another Half-Life game and you want to ignore everything we've learned in shipping Portal 2 and in shipping all the updates on the multiplayer side, that seems like a bad choice. So we'll keep moving forward. But that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean"

I've read that quote a few times now and have no idea what it means...what's he trying to say?

Compare the sales numbers and playerbase of Portal 2 to the revenue stream and playerbase of Valve's other cashcow titles (CS:GO, TF2 and possibly L4D2). It should be obvious what he's saying. Portal 2 is the closest thing we've gotten to a Half-Life title in nearly a decade, but it's virtually dead in terms of new players and revenue now. Compare it to TF2 which is as old as Half-Life 2 Ep 2 and still brings in boatloads of money for Valve every single day.

Valve is making a lot of money off their multiplayer titles and seem to be having a lot of fun doing it. Until they are ready and motivated to pour their hearts and souls into making a follow-up to Half-Life, I'd rather it stay back-burnered. They're not going to do it for the money, which means we need to wait until they are personally motivated by the prospect of continuing/finishing the Half-Life story. Things like sales figures for their other HL titles are completely meaningless as a motivator if you're not in it for the money, and Valve has so much other low-hanging fruit right now that's probably fun for them to work on and fattens their wallets.

Unless Valve has fun making HL3, it's not going to be a game that's fun to play, and if they don't think they could have fun making it right now, then I will wait. It's not like there aren't thousands of other amazing games to play right now.
 
Unless Valve has fun making HL3, it's not going to be a game that's fun to play, and if they don't think they could have fun making it right now, then I will wait. It's not like there aren't thousands of other amazing games to play right now.

That's my stance on it too. If Valve's not excited (or find it 'fun') to create Half-Life 3, the end product probably wouldn't be a very good experience. I'd rather have a Half-Life 3 that's backed by enthusiasm than by a team that's just building a 'by the numbers' sequel.

I actually respect Valve for that decision. And, I'm sure when they have that idea, that creates enthusiasm for the project again, we'll see Half-Life 3.
 
I'm definitely a fan of waiting for something to be done properly over just done for the sake of being done. Though I have the luxury of youth so maybe my stance will change as I age :p
 
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