Valve Makes Surprise Half-Life Announcement, But is it Half-Life 3?
Earlier today, Valve sent veritable shockwaves through the internet with the surprise announcement that the company will be unveiling a new game later this week. Not only that, but it’s a new Half-Life game, although it isn’t the ‘Half-Life 3’ that gamers have been hoping to see for over fifteen years. The game, entitled Half-Life: Alyx, will reportedly be Valve’s new “Flagship VR Game.”
Half-Life: Alyx – What is Valve’s New Flagship VR Game?
At present, almost nothing is known about what Half-Life: Alyx might be. It’s notable that the game is not entitled Half-Life 3, and there’s all manner of reasons why that might be. The game is a VR title, for example, rather than a core PC/console title. As such, Valve may wish to make clear that it is a standalone project. Additionally, it’s possible that Valve may simply want to avoid calling the game ‘Half-Life 3’, which has, after all, been so extremely over-hyped as a concept in the last fifteen years that it would be extraordinarily difficult for the game to live up to expectations!
Fans have been wanting another Half-Life game ever since the release of Half-Life 2 back in 2004. While Valve did eventually release two short episodic games, Episode One and Two, in 2006 and 2007 respectively, the story was left on a cliffhanger and never resolved. Despite receiving critical acclaim, Valve has never since returned to the franchise. This will be the first Half-Life title for over a decade.
The question is, just how big will Half-Life: Alyx actually be. VR titles have a tendency to be relatively small or somewhat experimental, so fans should probably temper their expectations accordingly; Half-Life: Alyx could turn out to be a relatively small release which is using the Half-Life name as a marketing tactic. However, it’s also notable that Valve describes the game as their “flagship” VR game. That term seems to imply that Alyx might be a fairly large project… Whatever the case, the game will be unveiled at 10 AM PST on Thursday the 21st of October. As such, fans won’t need to wait long before they get to see what it is for themselves!