Yet different Half-Life 3 rumour is making waves amongst fans, but determination remains nary motion of immoderate existent announcement.
You tin typically expect rumours of Half-Life 3’s beingness to harvest up astatine slightest erstwhile a year, particularly aft the merchandise of Half-Life: Alyx proved Valve hadn’t wholly forgotten oregon abandoned the series.
However, things truly ratcheted up this past August, acknowledgment to a dependable actor’s CV referencing a Project White Sands and datamined accusation from different Valve games that pointed towards existent question connected a caller game.
While the 20th day of Half-Life 2 came and went past week with nary large announcements (besides immoderate down the scenes info connected Valve’s plans for Half-Life 2: Episode Three), YouTuber Tyler McVicker has enactment retired a caller video with what helium believes is further grounds of Half-Life 3’s existence.
McVicker has made predominant claims regarding Half-Life 3 successful the past, specified arsenic a cancelled physique of the crippled from 2015, but helium was among the first to leak details connected Valve’s upcoming multiplayer shooter Deadlock (or Citadel arsenic it was primitively known).
According to McVicker, caller updates to Valve’s existent titles – Deadlock, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2 – see details and files helium is convinced are related to a caller Half-Life game.
These see systems that person been lifted from Half-Life 2 but person been somewhat amended, specified arsenic types of sounds that non-player characters (like enemies) tin respond to.
An wholly caller shotgun dependable was besides recovered successful Valve’s Source 2 engine, which McVicker theorises means Valve is moving weapon investigating ‘at a precise debased level.’
Perhaps the biggest find is that, successful the latest Dota 2 update, datamining uncovered references to thing called Arty. McVicker explains Arty was a cancelled task that would person allowed for procedural destruction.
Given however galore Arty files were found, McVicker calls it ‘as adjacent arsenic you tin get to root codification without it being root code.’ He besides feels assured that it’s being utilized for Half-Life 3 since determination was immoderate speculation that akin files recovered antecedently successful the Source 2 motor would beryllium utilized successful Deadlock, but that coiled up not being the case.
Assuming McVicker is correct, Valve seems to beryllium prioritising innovating Half-Life 3’s gameplay implicit its graphics. Half-Life 2 already featured incredibly elaborate physics, which were praised astatine the time, truthful it’d marque consciousness for Valve to absorption connected gathering upon that facet for a sequel.
Plus, Valve president Gabe Newell himself has admitted Half-Life 2: Episode Three didn’t hap due to the fact that helium didn’t deliberation it was worthy it unless they could travel up with caller gameplay features that could propulsion things forward.
With the datamined files pointing to enhanced interactivity betwixt non-player characters and procedural destruction, McVicker suggests Half-Life 3 could person *immersive sim* elements (we hatred that word but deliberation games similar Arkane’s Dishonored and Deathloop).
However, McVicker doesn’t deliberation this means Half-Life 3 volition beryllium a afloat immersive sim. He besides doesn’t deliberation it volition beryllium unfastened world, similar immoderate person speculated, and alternatively claims it’ll beryllium much akin to Uncharted 4 (or so Half-Life 2), and diagnostic linear levels with smaller unfastened areas.
While there’s nary telling if oregon erstwhile Valve volition assistance the lid connected immoderate caller Half-Life projects, it feels similar the bid is acceptable to proceed acknowledgment to the occurrence of Half-Life: Alyx.
After its release, Valve decorator Phil Co adjacent expressed optimism for Half-Life’s future: ‘This crystal has been broken, present we’re hoping to smash done the crystal completely. We’re not acrophobic of Half-Life nary more.’
The occupation with Half-Life rumours is not that they’re not existent – McVicker is simply a reliable and conscientious root – but that Valve perpetually experiments with caller ideas, starts a caller project, and past abandons it aft a fewer months oregon years.
So portion they whitethorn beryllium making Half-Life 3 now, there’s nary warrant they inactive volition beryllium by adjacent year… earlier they past get a caller thought and statesman an wholly caller experiment. Maybe 1 time Valve volition really decorativeness and realise a caller crippled but it’s been 20 years truthful acold and they inactive haven’t got determination yet.
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