Gabe Newell's AMA has some interesting answers

I guess Gabe Newell did one of those AMAs that the kids love so much? There's only so many answers that they managed to throw in for the 90 minutes or so that he was answering questions, but the most interesting to me was "Is Valve working on a full-featured single-player game?" which he responded to with a "Yes." Obviously Valve hasn't put one of those out since, what, Portal 2? Who's to say what that might be (he was obviously cagey about anything HL3-related), but hopefully it's something more than some Vive thing that few people will get to experience. He does mention developing their own VR games elsewhere in the thread, so maybe that's all we can hope for.

Anyway, Gabe's always interesting to read simply because he doesn't pop up in the press all that often, even if the "Half-Life 3 is launching tomorrow" announcement isn't in there.

Half-Life 3 is launching tomorrow?! Thank for the heads-up.

Interesting, thanks. I seem to remember reading at the time of Portal 2 Valve saying they would never release a purely single player game again. That there would always be some kind of multiplayer component. Who knows what it could be.

I wonder if it will be multi-platform.

It would be cool if they made a completely new game, rather than a sequel. Valve has creativity they just don't use it because their fans want more of the same.

Although... with a game like Doom out in the world, it would make alot of sense to try and reinvigorate a franchise like Half-life...

Depending on your definition of 'fully fledged singleplayer game' you can either accept or disregard The Lab. It's fully fleshed out in the way that it's a complete game that you experience on your own. It's not fully fledged out if your definition requires a singleplayer campaign with overarching plot.

I think Valve is making a VR game. Especially since there's a lack of the more traditional singleplayer games on VR. On top of that, Valve has a vested interest in getting people on the VR train now that they sell their own headsets and distribute the VR software.

By that definition, I don't think they've ever released a "purely single player" game. Half Life, Half Life 2, and Portal 2 all had multiplayer components. The original Portal was single player only, but even that launched in The Orange Box alongside TF2.

I'm looking forward to see what Valve comes up with in VR with the new Vive controllers.

Didn't realize there was both a Portal and Half-Life movie on the way. Half-Life could be really fun as a movie, they'll just have to cast someone who's willing to stay silent the entire time.

Reddit is freaking out about this in a good way and thats fun.

Personally I don't believe that a Half Life sequel ever comes out. Its probably something new entirely, which is great.

If its not the promised land then I assume that Reddit will hate on Gabe Newell again as they always do when he does something controversial (see Skyrim modding drama).

At this point, I kinda hope that whatever single playered thing they might be working on isn't a HL3.

At least now I can tell people to shut up when they say Valve doesn't make games anymore. I don't know why everybody is so convinced Half-Life 3 is never coming out.

What about his knives though?

@ezekiel: I think they're convinced because it's been over 9 years since Half Life 2: Episode 2 came out. They even said there would be 3 episodes! Valve doesn't talk about it and there is no reason to believe that this game will ever believes because of Valve's business practices right now.

Gabe Newell has some kind of power. He can just set the internet aflame with one picture or even a sentence. It's cool to hear that Valve may eventually release a single player focused game at some point.

Not even the number 3 game I want from them now. Just give me Team Fortress 3.

The Last Guardian came out eleven years after Shadow of the Colossus. A lot of people believed the game was cancelled. Avatar came out fifteen years after James Cameron wrote the script. Episode Three probably became Half-Life 3, and as they were working on Half-Life 3, they probably ran into problems with the new engine or the design of the game and decided to start over. Other projects got in the way, including the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, Steam OS and Steam VR. Half-Life 2 was an ambitious title, and I imagine they want to blow people away again, even if those people have unrealistic expectations. What is the point of announcing a game years and years before it's ready, showing trailers at every convention as if people will continue to salivate over it? People grew bored of The Last Guardian before it was even out. Valve doesn't do that. They almost released Portal 2 the year they announced it. They probably wanna see the continuation of their flagship title like everybody else.

@ezekiel: Do they though? The Last Guardian comparison doesn't work because Sony basically was saying once a year that "yes, this game is still in development". Valve has been dead silent about it. Also don't forget they are still working on TF2, Dota 2 and CSGO, which are making bank right now. I don't doubt they want to blow everyone away again by having a transcending experience, but it just seems like Valve is way more interested in their multiplayer games and Steam because they are continuously making money.

How does it not work? It's the same thing. My point is simply that some projects take an exceedingly long time and have to be reworked. I ask again what the point is of teasing a game years and years before it's ready. Portal 2 wasn't marketed like that.

Okay, you're telling us again that Half-Life 3 is still in development, as you told us last year and the year before. So what? How does that help me? I don't even care anymore. Just shut up and show us when it's ready.

I think it would be great if HL3 came out without any announcement or fanfare, to mock all the hype. It just shows up on the store one day. But I know that's not how big releases go.

Dota 2 story campaign!

@ezekiel: @colonel_pockets:

Game Informer released an interview last week of an interview with a Valve employee that was conducted back in October 2015. They waited so long to release it because the source demanded to remain anonymous in any stories about it and they could never get any of their other Valve sources to make any comment or statement on the record about it; so take it with some salt I guess.

According to that interview, as of October 2015, Half-Life 3 was not in active development. There were a few different developer teams inside Valve that came together over the years, each with different ideas about what the game should like look. But none of them got very far before falling apart, and there hasn't been a really serious effort since Half-Life 2: Episode 2 came out.

That's 14 months ago now, so its possible something has changed. But even if there is a development team working on a Half-Life 3 game again, there's no guarantee it won't fall apart like all the past efforts have.

The story shouldn't have been published. If you can't verify your story, then it's not news. This is why nobody takes game journalism seriously.

From the Reddit thread:

Question: An unidentified anonymous source at Valve has said that Half Life 3 has been cancelled. Is that source legitimate?

Answer: I personally believe all unidentified anonymous sources on the Internet.

@ezekiel: The person is anonymous to us, not to the journalist. I agree that verification is important, which is why the interview wasn't published before now and why it should be taken with salt. But that doesn't mean its not newsworthy either.

It's not newsworthy. How can we believe the author's anonymous source? How can we believe the author? If a reporter claimed Obama had sex with his secretary but advised to take it with a grain of salt, it would still be slander. Verification isn't just important, it's vital.

"Half-Life 3 is launching tomorrow" - Matt Rorie

Well that's where an author's credibility comes into play. Anonymous sources aren't some blanket wrong.

Newsworthyness is another matter altogether.

Now i want them to just make HL4 because this whole HL3 meme is getting on my nerves.

I was literally just about to type this.

On topic though; if I know Gabe Newell like I think I do (which I probably don't), I can see the next game out of Valve being teased as a 3 something, and ending up being Portal or Left 4 Dead. However, with VR finally making an entrance, I think we can expect Half Life 3 within the next five-ish years.

I think the fact that he said yes to developing a full feature single player game. I don't care if it's Half Life 3 Portal 3, a 20 hour VR thing or even a new IP. The fact that he said yes there are still talented developers at Valve working on at least one real project means that company hasn't gone entirely crazy like I once believed. :P

@bojackhorseman: Is it just me or am i the only one not hyped for VR?

If they make HL3 VR only i would give even less of a sh*t.

And even if it comes out it will probably not meet people's expectations.

I'm not here to hate on Half-Life but it's been so long that i just don't care anymore.

@samanthak: No, you are not the only one. Haven't even played the first two games. But I do like the myth of Half-Life 3 though. Alas, I suspect it's like you say, it probably won't live up to expectations. I mean, at this point, how could it?

I wish he had been a little more prone to taking action with regards to shitty shovelware and asset flips plaguing the Steam store, instead of just "we'll build better filters". Some stuff should not be sitting next to actual quality products with time and effort put into them.

They should just release a "Half-Life Trilogy."

And then only include HL, HL2. And Portal.

Too bad he didn't answer my knife collection question. I feel that's what all us really want to know.