Nobody really saw this coming: We’ll have to wait for Half-Life 3 for quite a while, while Valve sees their priorities elsewhere.
It’s what feels like the oldest joke in video game history, but it doesn’t really get any better than this: Half-Life 3 and when the hell it’s supposed to come out. According to the latest – and unsurprising – info, probably not too soon. Because according to the latest rumours about Valve, the company behind Steam currently has something completely different in the works.
First of all, no Half-Life 3, but …?
I guess the wait goes on: If you have hope for a foreseeable release of Half-Life 3 after Alyx, then let (Tyler McVicker) take it away. The YouTuber and operator of the (Valve News Network) claims that only a tiny team is currently working on the idea. Instead, Valve sees its priority in completely different projects.
What comes instead of Half-Life 3? According to McVicker, Valve is currently concentrating on the Steam Deck and related projects – which is not too surprising. But before you turn off your screen in frustration, close your laptop or flush your phone down the toilet, we might have some good news for you.
If McVicker’s potential information is to be believed, instead of Half-Life 3 a project called Half-Life: Citadel is in the making – which is not to be understood as a classic first-person shooter. Instead, McVicker describes the Valve project as a mixture of first-person shooter and real-time strategy, which relies on co-op elements and is supposed to remind fans of the best times of Left 4 Dead and Alien Swarm.
This is not officially confirmed at the moment and, as usual, you should view this report with a healthy portion of scepticism. However, McVicker’s report would make sense: that Valve wants to score points with the Steam Deck for the time being, produces its own draught horse of the brand heavyweight Half-Life for it and tries new challenges again despite the success of Alyx.
How credible is the source? Tyler McVicker runs his own YouTube channel specialising in Valve and Steam news and rumours. His information is usually considered quite reliable and credible – but of course you should also wait here for official information and whether Half-Life: Citadel really exists (in this form).
What do we know about Half-Life 3 so far?
It has not yet been officially confirmed whether a Half-Life 3 will actually come. After the release of Alyx, game designer Robin Walker from Valve at least let it slip that the VR game was the beginning and not the end. How Half-Life 3 could have looked more or less immediately after the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has meanwhile been revealed in the course of a documentary.
After Half-Life: Alyx, however, a continuation of the story is actually inevitable. What the end of the VR game reveals for the future of the franchise?