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Everything you need to know about the mysterious history of 'Half-Life 3': The game that never was
Everything you need to know about the mysterious history of 'Half-Life 3': The game that never was
Aug 22, 2018, 18:35 IST
First, a quick Half-Life recap.
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After the second game, developers at Valve adopted a new "episodic" strategy, which involved releasing shorter games more frequently, to avoid another 6-year development gap between releases. This led to the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (2006) and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (2007).
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In 2008, concept art featuring the games' iconic protagonists started popping up on the internet, giving fans hope that the development was just taking longer than expected.
Around this time, rumors swirled around the possibility that Half-Life 3 would feature a deaf character who uses sign language, garnering much praise from disability rights activists.
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Meanwhile, fans took to Steam to express their concerns and request that Valve communicate more effectively about the future of the game. Instead, Valve released Left 4 Dead 2.
Fast forward a couple years, and upon the release of Portal 2 in 2011, Valve publicly declared that they are moving away from "isolated" single-player games.
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Two fans decided they had waited long enough, so they staged a two-man protest —complete with picket signs — outside the Valve headquarters.
In 2013, Star Trek and now Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams says in a speech that he wants to work with Valve on a new game. Fans can only assume that he must be referring to Half-Life 3.
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Years go by with no substantial reason for hope that the game will ever manifest. Rumors continue to swirl, Valve continues their "say nothing" policy, and the mystery around the game evolves into a full-fledged internet meme.
Suddenly, in August 2017, a former Half-Life writer shocked the fan base with a blog post that many believe revealed the plot of the abandoned game.
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In February of this year, the makers of Final Fantasy XV introduced a Half-Life loot pack, inspiring groans from the still-nostalgic fans.
Today, there's no real reason to believe we'll see a Half-Life 3 or Half-Life 2: Episode 3 any time in the near future, but that doesn't mean there aren't fans who do.