Half-Life is synonymous with everything revolutionary in the gaming industry. Every self-respecting gamer has probably completed the game two and a half times by now. Even if you haven't, you definitely have heard about it. Half-Life was the game which catapulted Valve to legend status. If not for Half-Life, we wouldn't have Counter-Strike either. The series is often described as one of the biggest success stories in the history of video games.
But why hasn't Valve released the follow up to 2004's Half-Life 2, and do we even need a sequel sixteen years later? This is a definitive list of reasons that Half-Life 3 should happen and a few that the train has already left the station.
10 Should: Success Of The Previous Entries
As of December 2008, 18.8 million copies of the main Half-Life games had been sold. This is excluding the 9.3 million copies which constitute the expansions. At this point, it seems foolish not to release a sequel because Valve does want to earn money, right? Even if we were to ignore the financial returns, the HL series has single-handedly built up Valve's reputation. All subsequent Valve titles have also become instant classics because of the fact that Half-Life did so well. One can only hope that Valve will leverage this fact and give us Half-Life 3.
9 Shouldn't: Unrealistic Expectations
Even though Cyberpunk 2077 is a buggy release with CDPR not holding up on their promises, it did have some unrealistic expectations riding on it. The same fate could befall Half-Life 3 as well. For a franchise, that has left a mark on so many gamers around the blog, nothing short of perfection will suffice. The harsh truth is that even if Valve decides to release Half-Life 3, it will fall short of expectations.
No matter how great or revolutionary it is, there's no way Valve will be able to make a game which will satisfy everyone.
8 Should: Alyx
Despite the criticism it has received (in terms of accessibility), it's safe to say that Half-Life: Alyx was indeed a great game. It showed players that Valve is more than capable of dishing out great titles. After the success Alyx saw, Half-Life 3 should be a no brainer. Even if Valve was just testing the waters, they've realized that there is still huge potential in the Half-Life brand. If I were Valve, it should just be a question of when and not if.
7 Shouldn't: Hands Full
Valve is currently running two of the most popular esports titles in the world — CS:GO and Dota 2. And from what we've been hearing about the dwindling player base of CS:GO it seems they're facing some issues. Valve can easily ride on the success of their marketplace and existing titles for eternity. It doesn't seem pragmatic to allocate humongous resources on developing a new title when they still have to iron out the creases in their existing ones.
6 Should: Active Community
The Steam marketplace has one of the most active gaming communities on the planet. Add that to the list of players who switched over from Half-Life to Counter-Strike and we have a vast player base ripe for the taking. Half-Life 3 could serve as an introduction to the younger of Valve's single-player game capabilities.
In fact, it could attract a whole new demographic of players to the world of Half-Life.
5 Shouldn't: Legacy
The legacy of Half-Life has already been made. Valve did it. Players around the world will remember the franchise for years to come. And sometimes things should be left the way they are. A third Half-Life could very well taint this legacy if Valve messes it up and that is not how we want to remember the franchise. While it is saddening to think that there will never be another Half-Life game, it's nothing compared to fond memories being blemished by a mediocre release.
4 Should: Source 2
Valve has poured a lot of time and resources into creating their latest engine- Source 2. Seeing how the Half-Life games have been leaps in gaming technology when they were released, it would be foolish not to use this engine to create the third offering in the Half-Life franchise. While Dota 2 has already been ported into the new engine, CS:GO is still running on the original Source engine. Half-Life 3 could be the perfect way to show off the true capabilities of Valve's new engine.
3 Shouldn't: Original Team Disassembled
It's a matter of public record that most of the team members responsible for the original Half-Life games have left Valve to pursue other avenues and projects. Getting all of them together for another game could prove to be an arduous task for Valve but without them, there cannot be a good Half-Life game. Their vision and hard work were what made Half-Life the phenomenon it is today. Many of them had concerns over the shifting priorities of Valve and it may be a little too late to reconcile with them.
2 Should: Era Defining Game
As we usher in a new era of gaming- the advent of VR, the next-gen consoles, and quantum leaps in PC gaming, a new Half-Life game could be the cherry on top. The previous 2 releases are what defined all the games in their generation.
Each of them was leaps and bounds ahead of the competition at the time and looking at the kind of technology we have today, it will be interesting to see what Valve can do.
1 Shouldn't: Competition
The market now is very different it was from back then. There are new releases almost every day and a lot of these are story-driven video games. Most of these games have been made using cutting edge technology and it's difficult to make something truly outstanding. It would be very difficult for Valve to make a game that will be able to blow the competition out of the water- which is something players expect from all Half-Life games. The scale of graphics, gameplay, and story is a lot higher than it was 15 years ago.