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Half-Life 3 Reportedly Not in Development, While 'Valve Focuses on Steam Deck'

Half-Life 3 Reportedly Not in Development, While 'Valve Focuses on Steam Deck' - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 29 November 2021 / 1,879 Views

Half-Life 3 is currently not in development, while Valve is focused on the Steam Deck. This is according to Tylver McVicker of Valve News Network in a new video who spoke with multiple sources. 

"To get the big question out of the way, is there a true follow-up to Half-Life 2: Episode Two in development in any capacity at Valve Software?" asked McVicker and transcribed by VideoGamesChronicle.

"The end of Half-Life Alyx, for those who haven’t played it heavily, hints towards the continuation of Gordon Freeman’s story. The issue is that no, at the current time, there isn’t a major development team working on anything outside of the few pieces of software that are specifically tailored for hardware right now.

"Valve is trying to get the Steam Deck out and, like many people have observed, the Steam Deck has been significantly more successful than originally anticipated, so Valve is throwing a lot at it.

"Half-Life 3, Half-Life 2 Episode 3, any kind of traditional mouse and keyboard FPS at Valve is not taking place, [and] if it its, it’s a very small group of people and those individuals will not be seen as value generating by the higher-ups."

McVicker says Valve is working on a different project called Citadel. The mechanics for the game are reportedly a better fit for the Steam Deck. 

"Valve is working on a piece of software to best showcase what the Steam Deck is capable of doing – Citadel," said McVicker. "This is a nostalgia fest, this is a Half-Life based FPS/RTS hybrid that is co-operatively based. Think about Left 4 Dead and Alien Swarm, and RTS and Half-Life all having a baby."


A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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11 Comments
thevideogameninja (on 29 November 2021)

I have a feeling we are going to be getting rumors of a Half Life 3 game in development for at least another 10 years.

My advice for any out there hoping to see a Half life 3 anytime soon is, well...

-DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATHE NINJA APPROVED-

  • +2
Dulfite (on 29 November 2021)

All those software developers hard at work in factories building semiconductor chips...

  • +1
2zosteven (on 30 November 2021)

something is wrong with this company, why no HL3? this is what your customers want!

  • 0
Azzanation 2zosteven (on 30 November 2021)

They don't just make games if they can't make them right.

  • 0
OneTime (on 29 November 2021)

To be fair, it's been over 15 years since Half Life 2 released. Maybe they are aiming for Duke Nukem's record? In any case, there's never any guarantee a sequel will be good...

  • 0
No_Name_Needed (on 29 November 2021)

I'm shocked, seriously shocked!

  • 0
G2ThaUNiT (on 29 November 2021)

That's the thing that bugs me about Valve. There's not really any true leadership in the sense of directing what teams to work on what projects. It's more random teams doing what they want to work on. Half-Life: Alyx releases to great success and blatantly mentions the HL2 Episode 2 cliffhanger, and Valve saying afterwards that they're back on the Half-Life train, only for the Steam Deck to be announced, and that has now taken all the priority of the company.

  • 0
Chazore G2ThaUNiT (on 29 November 2021)

They operate more under a "do what you want" kind of gig, and though that doesn't always mean games you want, it's something that the devs want to do.

I'd consider the Deck a priority, considering the R&D that's likely gone into it and the people paying money for it. Last thing I'd want to see is a device massively shitting the bed and everyone being turned off it, because a few fans still want Valve's one remaining Vet HL writer to make a sequel to HL2.

  • -3
Azzanation (on 29 November 2021)

Wow this article almost broke the internet, yet 3 letters stopped it.

  • 0
JackHandy (on 29 November 2021)

If Half-Life 3 ever does launch, it's going to be almost impossible for it to live up to the hype. Even if it's great, will it be great enough? I would hate for it to end up becoming the gaming industry's Chinese Democracy.

  • -1
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