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''Half-Life 2: Episode Three'', the third and final installment of the ''Half-Life 2'' episodes, was expected to follow soon after ''Episode Two'', as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months.<ref name="PC Gamer">[[:File:HL2 Episodes - PC Gamer, May 2006.jpg|PC Gamer, May 2006]]</ref> However, as of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, three pieces of concept art are all Valve have shown of the next game. Since then, Valve has released eight other games.
 
''Half-Life 2: Episode Three'', the third and final installment of the ''Half-Life 2'' episodes, was expected to follow soon after ''Episode Two'', as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months.<ref name="PC Gamer">[[:File:HL2 Episodes - PC Gamer, May 2006.jpg|PC Gamer, May 2006]]</ref> However, as of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, three pieces of concept art are all Valve have shown of the next game. Since then, Valve has released eight other games.
   
 
Some fans believe Valve has scrapped the episodic model and is now working on a full sequel entitled ''Half-Life 3'', but Valve employees have consistently refused to comment on the status or nature of the next ''Half-Life'' game, much to the displeasure of their fanbase.<ref name="communication">{{LG|a-call-for-communicationmessage-to-valve-movement-still-going-now-has-its-own-steam-group|"A Call For Communication/Message To Valve" Movement Still Going, Now Has Its Own Steam Group}}</ref><ref name="Operation Crowbar">{{LG|operation-crowbar-crazy-fans-pay-money-to-send-valve-crowbars-to-get-across-a-half-life-message|"Operation: Crowbar" – Crazy Fans Pay Money… To Send Valve Crowbars… To Get Across A Half-Life “Message”}}</ref> Despite general satisfaction with the games Valve has made since ''Episode Two'', the next ''Half-Life'' game continues to be their most anticipated title, and since the long-awaited release of ''[[wikipedia:Duke Nukem Forever|Duke Nukem Forever]]'' in 2011, it has become gaming's most infamous case of continuing [[wikipedia:vaporware|vaporware]].
Some fans believe Valve has scrapped the episodic model and is now working on
 
 
a full sequel entitled ''Half-Life 3'', but Valve employees have consistently refused to comment on the status or nature of the next ''Half-Life'' game, much to the displeasure of their fanbase.<ref name="communication">{{LG|a-call-for-communicationmessage-to-valve-movement-still-going-now-has-its-own-steam-group|"A Call For Communication/Message To Valve" Movement Still Going, Now Has Its Own Steam Group}}</ref><ref name="Operation Crowbar">{{LG|operation-crowbar-crazy-fans-pay-money-to-send-valve-crowbars-to-get-across-a-half-life-message|"Operation: Crowbar" – Crazy Fans Pay Money… To Send Valve Crowbars… To Get Across A Half-Life “Message”}}</ref> Despite general satisfaction with the games Valve has made since ''Episode Two'', the next ''Half-Life'' game continues to be their most anticipated title, and since the long-awaited release of ''[[wikipedia:Duke Nukem Forever|Duke Nukem Forever]]'' in 2011, it has become gaming's most infamous case of continuing [[wikipedia:vaporware|vaporware]].
 
   
 
==Timeline of released information==
 
==Timeline of released information==
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===2008===
 
===2008===
   
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*In March, concept images are uploaded to [[Andrea Wicklund]]'s [[WIkipedia:Picasa|Picasa]] portfolio. The images are later leaked, and the original images taken down.<ref>[http://lambdageneration.com/news/other/hl2-episode-three-concept-art-leaked-possible-spoilers/ <nowiki>HL2: Episode Three Concept Art Leaked [UPDATED]</nowiki>] on LambdaGeneration
*In April, source code for three entities is released in the [[Source SDK]] in a folder named "Episode3", before being removed shortly after. They include "npc_combine_armored" (a heavily armored [[Combine]] soldier with separate shields for each part of its body), "npc_wpnscanner" (a scanner shooting bolts), and "weapon_proto1" (appearing in the [[Source Particle Benchmark]] and ''Episode Two'' as a test weapon). However, it is later stated by Valve's Tony Sergi that the code is a leftover of old material.<ref>[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7533035&postcount=3 Tony Sergi answer] on the Steam Users' Forums</ref>
 
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</ref><ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/exclusive-half-life-2-episode-3-concept-art.206815/ EXCLUSIVE: Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Concept Art] on ValveTime.net</ref> They are presented below.<gallery widths="140" position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"><!--- DO NOT ALTER THESE CODES --->
 
*In July, the second ''Episode Three'' concept art is released through the winner list of the [http://www.intothepixel.com/ Into the Pixel] contest of that year, involving Gordon Freeman and his crowbar face to face with a [[Combine Advisor]], and made by Valve artists [[Ted Backman]], [[Jeremy Bennett]], and [[Tristan Reidford]].<ref name="GR concepts" /><ref>[http://www.intothepixel.com/artwork/2008_contest_winners.asp 2008 contest winners] at Into the Pixel</ref> The same month, the third and last concept art so far is revealed again by GamesRadar.<ref name="GR concepts" />
 
 
*In an October interview, Valve marketing director [[Doug Lombardi]] states that news or an announcement of ''Episode Three'' might be revealed near the end of the year.<ref name="Lombardi">[http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/valve-doug-lombardi-left-4-dead-interview-p3.asp Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi] on Video Games Daily</ref> In that interview, Lombardi also states that the distance between ''Episode Two'' and its sequel will be longer than the distance between the three current ''Half-Life 2'' games.<ref name="Lombardi" />
 
 
*In December, video footage of what is presented as an Alpha version of ''Episode Three'' is released. It is later revealed to be a fan-made set of maps.<ref>{{YouTube|UUnn5TOB-4M|My HL2EP3 Trailer by MIXMEDiA}}</ref><ref>[http://www.moddb.com/games/half-life-2/addons/fake-episode-3-maps-half-life-2-ep2 FAKE Episode 3 Maps for Half-Life2: Ep2] on Mod DB</ref>
 
 
*Below is leaked Episode Three concept art from mid-2008.
 
 
<gallery widths="140" position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"><!--- DO NOT ALTER THESE CODES --->
 
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_Alyx_1.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_Alyx_1.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_Alyx_2.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_Alyx_2.jpg|
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File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_EP3_Xen_7.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_EP3_Xen_7.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_EP3_Xen_8.jpg|
 
File:Episode_Three_Concept_Art_Leaked_Mid_2008_EP3_Xen_8.jpg|
 
</gallery>In April, source code for three entities is released in the [[Source SDK]] in a folder named "Episode3", before being removed shortly after. They include "npc_combine_armored" (a heavily armored [[Combine]] soldier with separate shields for each part of its body), "npc_wpnscanner" (a scanner shooting bolts), and "weapon_proto1" (appearing in the [[Source Particle Benchmark]] and ''Episode Two'' as a test weapon). However, it is later stated by Valve's Tony Sergi that the code is a leftover of old material.<ref>[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7533035&postcount=3 Tony Sergi answer] on the Steam Users' Forums</ref>
</gallery>
 
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*In July, the second ''Episode Three'' concept art is released through the winner list of the [http://www.intothepixel.com/ Into the Pixel] contest of that year, involving Gordon Freeman and his crowbar face to face with a [[Combine Advisor]], and made by Valve artists [[Ted Backman]], [[Jeremy Bennett]], and [[Tristan Reidford]].<ref name="GR concepts" /><ref>[http://www.intothepixel.com/artwork/2008_contest_winners.asp 2008 contest winners] at Into the Pixel</ref> The same month, the third and last concept art so far is revealed again by GamesRadar.<ref name="GR concepts" />
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*In an October interview, Valve marketing director [[Doug Lombardi]] states that news or an announcement of ''Episode Three'' might be revealed near the end of the year.<ref name="Lombardi">[http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/valve-doug-lombardi-left-4-dead-interview-p3.asp Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi] on Video Games Daily</ref> In that interview, Lombardi also states that the distance between ''Episode Two'' and its sequel will be longer than the distance between the three current ''Half-Life 2'' games.<ref name="Lombardi" />
  +
 
*In December, video footage of what is presented as an Alpha version of ''Episode Three'' is released. It is later revealed to be a fan-made set of maps.<ref>{{YouTube|UUnn5TOB-4M|My HL2EP3 Trailer by MIXMEDiA}}</ref><ref>[http://www.moddb.com/games/half-life-2/addons/fake-episode-3-maps-half-life-2-ep2 FAKE Episode 3 Maps for Half-Life2: Ep2] on Mod DB</ref>
   
 
===2009===
 
===2009===
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*In April, Gabe Newell is interviewed by the Seven Day Cooldown podcast. His interviewer asked, "My final question and the question in the back of all your fans' minds and everyone has been waiting to ask you for a long time: When can we expect the release of Ricochet 2?" An audibly amused Newell responded, "In terms of Ricochet 2, we always have this problem that when we talk about things too far in advance, we end up changing our minds as we're going through and developing stuff, so as we're thinking through the giant story arc which is Ricochet 2, you might get to a point where you're saying something is surprising us in a positive way and something is surprising us in a negative way, and, you know, we'd like to be super-transparent about the future of Ricochet 2. The problem is, we think that the twists and turns that we're going through would probably drive people more crazy than just being silent about it, until we can be very crisp about what's happening next." It seems more than likely that the term "Ricochet 2" is a code-name for "Half-Life 3" as Ricochet itself was a multiplayer mod for the original Half-Life that is considered one of the worst games Valve has released (and more importantly, does not even have a plot). When asked if those working on the project have moved on to other games, he responds, "No, everybody who has worked on Ricochet 2 continues to work on Ricochet 2."<ref>[http://kotaku.com/5903627/gabe-newell-updates-interviewer-on-the-status-of-wink-wink-ricochet-2|Gabe Newell Updates Interviewer On The Status of (Wink, Wink) 'Ricochet 2'] on Kotaku</ref>
 
*In April, Gabe Newell is interviewed by the Seven Day Cooldown podcast. His interviewer asked, "My final question and the question in the back of all your fans' minds and everyone has been waiting to ask you for a long time: When can we expect the release of Ricochet 2?" An audibly amused Newell responded, "In terms of Ricochet 2, we always have this problem that when we talk about things too far in advance, we end up changing our minds as we're going through and developing stuff, so as we're thinking through the giant story arc which is Ricochet 2, you might get to a point where you're saying something is surprising us in a positive way and something is surprising us in a negative way, and, you know, we'd like to be super-transparent about the future of Ricochet 2. The problem is, we think that the twists and turns that we're going through would probably drive people more crazy than just being silent about it, until we can be very crisp about what's happening next." It seems more than likely that the term "Ricochet 2" is a code-name for "Half-Life 3" as Ricochet itself was a multiplayer mod for the original Half-Life that is considered one of the worst games Valve has released (and more importantly, does not even have a plot). When asked if those working on the project have moved on to other games, he responds, "No, everybody who has worked on Ricochet 2 continues to work on Ricochet 2."<ref>[http://kotaku.com/5903627/gabe-newell-updates-interviewer-on-the-status-of-wink-wink-ricochet-2|Gabe Newell Updates Interviewer On The Status of (Wink, Wink) 'Ricochet 2'] on Kotaku</ref>
 
*On June 1, the Twitter account "BreenGrub" begins posting.<ref>[https://twitter.com/BreenGrub/status/208248588931842048 BreenGrub on Twitter: "sss thss n?"]</ref> Marc Laidlaw, the main writer of the Half-Life series later confirms, "Basically it's me writing Dr. Breen fanfic" He later explains, "I personally cannot give the world a Half-Life game. All I can personally do, at least for now, is stuff like this."<ref>[http://www.pcgamesn.com/half-life-writer-marc-laidlaw-goes-back-breen-fanfiction-twitter-account Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw goes back to Breen with fanfiction Twitter account] on PCGamesN</ref>
   
*On June 9, Gabe Newell makes an appearance in the Kickstarter video for the indie game ''CLANG'' by Subutai Corporation. In the clip, Newell is welding a crowbar. Subutai member Neal Stephenson asks, "Hey, is that about ready?" Newell replies, "These things, they take time."<ref>{{YouTube|url=0d6yBHDvKUw|text=These things, they take time}}</ref>
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*On June 9, Gabe Newell appears in a video blacksmithing a crowbar. He is asked, "Hey, is that about ready?" to which he replies, "These things, they take time."<ref>{{YouTube|url=0d6yBHDvKUw|text=These things, they take time}}</ref><ref>[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/260688528/clang/description CLANG] by Subutai Corporation on Kickstarter</ref>
   
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*On August 17, a video is released in which Gabe Newell jokingly says, "You'll never get ''Half-Life 3'' if you eat me."<ref>[http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/1ynrgk/gttv-valve-season-5-ep-525 Valve] by GTTV on [[Wikipedia:Spike_(TV_network)|SPIKE.com]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9luYVeqS4k mirrored clip link] for restricted regions]</ref> This suggest that the game, if released, ''would'' be called "Half-Life 3".
*On June 27, a handful of concept art is leaked. While Valve has not commented on this, several forum moderators confirmed the art.<ref>{{LG|http://lambdageneration.com/posts/hl2-episode-three-concept-art-leaked-possible-spoilers/}}</ref>
 
   
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*On August 14, [[Wikipedia:Mad Catz|Mad Catz]] publishes a computer-generated promotional video for their new keyboard in which a ''Half-Life 3'' logo is visible among other icons.<ref>{{YouTube|url=3AbwJON7ECk|text=S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Keyboard Release Video
*A PDF file listing game announcements for Gamescom 2012 has been found to highlight the game ''Half-Life 3'', however, Gamescom reps later reported that it was "a mistake". Valve have confirmed its falseness with stating "We're not showing any games in Cologne this year."<ref name="Gamescom HL3">[http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?p=3059184&posted=1#post3059184 Official Gamescom Listing Outs Half-Life 3?] on GameSpy</ref> The list have later been updated and ''Half-Life 3'' removed.<ref name="Gamescom announcement list">[http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/media/gamescom/downloads/pdf/presse/Neuheitenliste.pdf List of Releases] on Gamescon</ref>
 
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}}</ref>
 
*In August 2012, Spike TV had interviewed Gabe Newell about ''Counter Strike: Global Offensive''. When Gabe was asked about ''Half-Life 3'', He replied "I hate sharks". He added "You'll never get ''Half-Life 3'' if you eat me" in reference to a joke that sharks are fans of the series, too. This implies that the game, if it were to ever be released, ''would'' be called "Half-Life 3".<ref>[http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/ncis3o/gt-tv-valve Valve] on GameTrailers</ref>
 
 
*The Mad Catz's S.T.R.I.K.E Keyboard trailer has a ''Half-Life 3'' icon visible on the desktop, likely a joke thrown in by the creators of the trailer.<ref>{{YouTube|url=3Wf6clfhh3M|text=Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E Keyboard Trailer Teases Half-Life 3}}</ref>
 
 
*On September 17, while not official, a French website reported that they have gotten some information regarding ''Half-Life 3'' from an anonymous source stating that the game will be featuring RPG elements. It also stated that the development for the game has been very chaotic, stating further that the project was revived several times and that its release date will be sometime after 2013.<ref name="Half-Life 3 RPG Rumor">[http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journaldugamer.com%2F2012%2F09%2F17%2Fhalf-life-3-open-world%2F&act=url Half-Life 3: our first exclusive information!] on Le Journal du Gamer</ref>
 
 
*On September 27, Ashley Johnson, better known as the voice of Ellie on the video game ''The Last of Us'', tweeted a photo of Merle Dandridge (the voice of Alyx Vance) in a motion capture suit, and accompanied the photo with the words ""Alyx Vance" #HL3 #insidescoop", which caused a stir amongst ''Half-Life'' fans. Johnson later admitted she was trolling the community, saying, "Yes. I'm a jerk. But God I wish it were true. #makeitsovalve #yesimatroll".<ref>[http://www.neoseeker.com/news/20935-alyx-vances-voice-actor-caught-mocapping-probably-not-news-for-half-life-fans/ Alyx Vance's voice actor caught mo-capping, probably not news for Half Life fans] on NeoSeeker</ref>
 
   
 
===2013===
 
===2013===
*J.J. Abrams (of Bad Robot Productions) and Gabe Newell were part of a keynote presentation at the DICE summit on February 6, titled "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" At the end of the presentation, Abrams said "There's an idea we have for a game that we'd like to work with Valve on." Newell then countered, "We're going to figure out if we can make a 'Portal' movie or 'Half-Life' movie together. But it's really time for us and for industries to stop talking about potentials and try to execute on them." (possibly referring to ''Half-Life 3''<nowiki/>'s long development time) The two then proceeded to exit the stage. This was the first official announcement from Valve related to the Half-Life series since 2011.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/jj-abrams-and-gabe-newell-show-interest-in-partnership.243153/ JJ Abrams and Gabe Newell show interest in partnership] on ValveTime.net</ref>
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*On February 6, Gabe Newell, and J.J. Abrams of [[Wikipedia:Bad Robot Productions|Bad Robot Productions]] held a presentation together, titled 'Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?' In the presentation, Abrams revealed, "There's an idea we have for a game that we'd like to work with Valve on." Newell then responded, "We're super excited about that, and we're also interested in working with you guys on movies. So, we're going to figure out if we can make a Portal movie or Half-Life movie together. But it's really time for us and for industries to stop talking about potentials and try to execute on them."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7mihllgiro&t=19m54s Star Trek's JJ Abrams and Valve's Gabe Newell - Full Keynote Speech - D.I.C.E. SUMMIT 2013] on YouTube
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</ref> <nowiki/>This was the first official announcement on Half-Life series since 2011.
*Gabe Newell won the Academy Fellowship at the BAFTA Awards on March 5, 2013. Jonathan Ross asked him if he had any news about ''Half-Life 3'', to which Newell said, "We don't have anything to say about it."<ref>[http://attackofthefanboy.com/news/life-3-questions-gabe-newell/ Half Life 3 questions appear to be getting old for Gabe Newell] on Attack of the Fanboy</ref>
 
*On March 28, 2013, David Goldfarb, a video game designer, tweeted "Saw Valve today. They have very nice things." Markus Persson (the creator of Minecraft) asked in another tweet "hl3 confirmed?" to which Goldfarb said "my silence must be interpreted as silence." Persson then said, "Reply to this tweet if hl3 is confirmed." Goldfarb responded with, "I will show my answer with some interpretative dance. Look closely."<ref>[https://twitter.com/locust9/status/317436600000868352] David Goldfarb on Twitter</ref>
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*On March 28, 2013, David Goldfarb, a video game designer, tweeted "Saw Valve today. They have very nice things.", a user replied "hl3 confirmed?" to which Goldfarb said "my silence must be interpreted as silence." the user replied again with, "Reply to this tweet if hl3 is confirmed." Goldfarb replied with, "I will show my answer with some interpretative dance. Look closely."<ref>[https://twitter.com/locust9/status/317436600000868352 David Goldfarb on Twitter: "Saw Valve today. They have very nice things"]</ref>
 
*On June 19, Valve's internal ''Half-Life 3'' group list is leaked. The mailing list includes 42 people. Valve had approximately 300 employees at the time.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/updated-half-life-3-left-4-dead-3-source-2-much-more-found-on-valve-project-tracker.243580/ HALF-LIFE 3, LEFT 4 DEAD 3, SOURCE 2 + MUCH MORE FOUND ON VALVE PROJECT TRACKER] on ValveTime.net</ref>
*On April 1, 2013, ''Half-Life 2: Episode Three'' was available on "Stteam", but when trying to pre-order the game, it is revealed to be an April Fool's prank from CheapShark.<ref>[http://storestteampowered.com/app/4411/ April Fools from CheapShark]</ref>
 
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*On August 15, [[John Patrick Lowrie]], a voice actor in many of Valve's games, claims that ''Half-Life 3'' hasn't been released yet because Valve is still working on better motion capture technology which would allow in-game characters to adjust their movements depending on player's actions.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652431 Valve's voice actor: HL3 not in dev for several reasons; insufficient Mo-Cap tech.][http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652431] on NeoGAF</ref> Lowrie later clarified "The most important thing to know about voice actors is that we’re the last to know anything. [...] whatever Gabe Newell has to say about a project is the best info you’re going to get."<ref>[http://lowrie.camelpress.com/?p=306#comment-15796 Linked comment by John Patrick Lowrie] on
*Doug Lombardi confirmed in an email to Valve Time that Valve was not showing any games at E3 in 2013.<ref>[https://twitter.com/ValveTime/status/322180749375705088/photo/1 Valve Time] on Twitter</ref>
 
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John Patrick Lowrie's Blog
*On May 22, 2013, Marc Laidlaw admits that the "BreenGrub" account on Twitter is him "writing Dr. Breen fanfic." He explained in another tweet, "I personally cannot give the world a Half-Life game. All I can personally do, at least for now, is stuff like this."<ref>[http://www.pcgamesn.com/half-life-writer-marc-laidlaw-goes-back-breen-fanfiction-twitter-account Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw goes back to Breen with fanfiction Twitter account] on PCGamesN</ref>
 
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</ref>
*Valve's project tracker is leaked to the public in June and includes mailing lists such as "Half-Life 3", "Left 4 Dead 3" and "Source 2." Valve Time notes that the lists appear to be legitimate given the employee names on the lists.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/updated-half-life-3-left-4-dead-3-source-2-much-more-found-on-valve-project-tracker.243580/ HALF-LIFE 3, LEFT 4 DEAD 3, SOURCE 2 + MUCH MORE FOUND ON VALVE PROJECT TRACKER] on ValveTime.net</ref>
 
 
*On August 20, a fan who had recently toured Valve's headquarters shares what their guide had told them about ''Half-Life 3''. "If I told you anything about it you'd just have more questions. We only have elements. Bits and pieces of game. No structure. No story."<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1kpf6f/i_got_a_tour_at_valve_ama/cbr9s7k MyGuitarIsOnFire comments on I got a tour at VALVe! AMA] on [[Wikipedia:Reddit|reddit]]</ref>
*Surgeon Simulator 2013 was updated with a Team Fortress 2 DLC. Upon completing the TF2 mission, a Medic statue appears on Nigel's desk. Looking at the bottom of the statue, a strange code is seen along with some Korean text that translate to "The Time is" leading to think that an ARG may be going on.<ref>http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/921266761960177669/FAD2F75C9FBE76BB062DC25805992AB7025118F1/</ref>
 
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*On September 1, Valve's ''Half-Life 3'' group list is leaked again. The list now includes 46 people, 4 more than last time. Also leaked is a new "Half-Life 3 Core" list, including 10 people from the larger group.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/valve-jira-database-accessed-once-more-hl3-l4d3-source-2-groups-expand.243965/ Valve Jira Database Accessed Once More - HL3/L4D3/Source 2 Groups Expand] on ValveTime.net</ref>
*''Half-Life 2'' is updated, which seemingly has broken a few files, and has caused all characters to speak Korean. The game was patched shortly after with this tweet posted by Steam Support: "WARNING: The most recent HL2 update has some issues. We're working to fix this, you can pause the update for now. 예측하지 못한 결과에 대비하라..." The Korean translates to "Prepare for unforeseen consequences..."
 
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*On September 29, the trademark "HALF-LIFE 3" is filed,<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=688589 Valve files trademark for...] on NeoGAF</ref> and three days later on October 2, "PORTAL 3" is filed.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/fake-european-half-life-3-portal-3-trademarks-filed.243962/ FAKE: European Half-Life 3/Portal 3 Trademarks Filed] on ValveTime.net</ref> Both trademarks are apparently filed by Valve, but later disappear.
**Valve denies any sort of ARG going on, but the designers behind Surgeon Simulator confirmed it to be just an ARG for Surgeon Simulator itself.<ref>[https://twitter.com/SurgeonSim2013/status/350341471657926656 Surgeon Simulator] on Twitter</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/SurgeonSim2013/statuses/350549872459522048] on Twitter</ref>
 
*July: The website "Noshitshurlock" reports that Half-Life level designer [[John Guthrie]] has confirmed ''Half-Life 3'' will be released in late 2014, with a demo and a trailer to be played at E3 next year.<ref>http://www.noshitshurlock.com/half-life-3-coming-late-2014-to-pc-and-console/</ref> Valve responds the next day, announcing the claim is bogus.<ref>http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126372-Half-Life-3-Wont-Be-At-E3-2014-Says-Valve</ref>
 
*On August 15, [[John Patrick Lowrie]], a prominent voice actor in Valve games, claims in the comments section on his blog that ''Half-Life 3'' hasn't been released yet because Valve is waiting for a better motion capture technology which would allow in-game characters to adjust their movements depending on player's actions.<ref>http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/why_half_life_3_has_not_been_released_yet.html</ref> Lowrie later admitted that as a voice actor he wasn't well-qualified to be up-to-date on the game's development, and that he himself was just as in the dark as the fans.<ref>http://kotaku.com/voice-actor-is-sorry-for-crushing-your-half-life-3-drea-1165734092</ref>
 
*On August 19, a news item showed up on Steam announcing the ''Half-Life 3'' Internal Beta 3 had been released, with details such as bug fixes and enhanced texture quality. This was later revealed to have been a mistake by a developer, who was apparently using ''Half-Life'' and its characters as a placeholder for a test.<ref>http://kotaku.com/steam-developer-accidentally-trolls-half-life-3-fans-1168581785</ref>
 
*On August 25, a reddit user who had recently toured Valve headquarters held an AMA. When asked about ''Half-Life 3'', he explained he had asked their tour guide, who said, "We only have elements. Bits and pieces of game. No structure. No story."<ref>http://gamingbolt.com/half-life-3-apparently-exists-but-in-bits-and-pieces</ref>
 
*On September 1, 2013, Valve's Jira database is momentarily made available to the general public. It indicates that Valve is working on Source 2, ''Left 4 Dead 3'', and ''Half-Life 3''.<ref>http://www.valvetime.net/threads/valve-jira-database-accessed-once-more-hl3-l4d3-source-2-groups-expand.243965/</ref>
 
*Valve announces some mysterious things involving Steam in the player's living room.<ref>http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/</ref>
 
**The first item announced was both the SteamOS and the Family Sharing system. Some users now believe the final item to be announced could indeed be a new ''Half-Life'' game and/or a next generation Source engine.
 
**The second item announced was Steam Machines, which is Valve's new line of consoles.
 
**The third announcement was for Steam Controller. No more countdowns appear to be ongoing after this announcement, so it may be safe to assume that there will be no more announcements from the Living Room pages.
 
**The image in the center of the screen seemed to be getting more intense as items were revealed. Some fans speculate this is a Steam logo, but others think it may be ''Half-Life'' related. it is now revealed to be not a logo for anything at the moment
 
*On September 29, 2013, Valve files a trademark for "Half-Life 3."<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=688589 Valve files trademark for...] on NeoGAF</ref>
 
*On October 4, 2013, Valve removes the trademark. ValveTime reports that it is likely a hoax, prompted by a sneak peek into Valve's Jira account. Valve itself refuses to comment.<ref>http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/10/01/half-life-3-trademark-filed-by-valve</ref>
 
*On October 5, 2013, it is reported that a trademark for "Portal 3" has appeared.<ref>http://au.gamespot.com/news/half-life-3-trademark-vanishes-6415182</ref>
 
   
 
===2014===
 
===2014===
*In an interview in January, Gabe Newell explained in an interview with the Washington Post why Valve doesn't "crank out new ''Half-Life'' sequels": "When we started out we were a single-player video game company that could have been really successful just doing ''Half-Life'' sequel after ''Half-Life'' sequel, but we collectively said let's try to make multi-player games even though there's never been a commercial successful multi-player game."<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/03/gabe-newell-on-what-makes-valve-tick/</ref>
+
*On January 3, an interview with Gabe Newell is released. In it he explains "When we started out we were a single-player video game company that could have been really successful just doing Half-Life sequel after Half-Life sequel, but we collectively said let's try to make multi-player games even though there's never been a commercial successful multiplayer game."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/03/gabe-newell-on-what-makes-valve-tick/ Gabe Newell on what makes Valve tick] on [[Wikipedia:The Washington Post|The Washington Post]]</ref>
  +
*On May 23, former Valve employee, Minh Le, who left five years earlier, stated that he had seen concept art of what looked like it was in the ''Half-Life'' universe.<ref>[http://www.twitch.tv/gorgntv/c/4263036?t=33m56s Minh "Gooseman" Le Interview - The Creator of Counter-Strike] by [http://www.twitch.tv/gorgntv goRGNtv] on [[Wikipedia:Twitch|Twitch]]</ref>
*On January 27, a leaked image of the Source 2.0 engine for ''Left 4 Dead 2'' is posted on a forum on NeoGAF by a user well-known for leaking confidential information to the public. This indicates that Valve is progressing with the Source 2 engine.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=758999 l4d3? (Source 2 reveal)] on NeoGAF</ref>
 
*On May 23, it is reported that ''Counter-Strike'' co-creator and former Valve employee, Minh Le, said that he had seen artwork of the next ''Half-Life'' game, as well as ''Left 4 Dead 3'', and confirmed that the next ''Half-Life'' game is being worked on. Le did not know when the games would come out but he stated, "I think it’s kind of public knowledge, that people know that it is being worked on. And so if I were to say that yeah, I’ve seen some images – like some concept art of it – that wouldn’t be big news to be honest. Minh Le left Valve years ago and as such the concept art he saw may have been outdated."<ref>http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/05/23/i-did-see-some-concept-art-for-half-life-3-says-counter-strike-creator-left-4-dead-3-looks-great/</ref>
 
   
 
===2015===
 
===2015===
*On March 3, Valve officially announced Source 2 engine.<ref>https://steamdb.info/blog/source2-announcement/</ref>
+
*On March 3, Valve officially announced the Source 2 engine.<ref>[https://steamdb.info/blog/source2-announcement/ Source 2 announced, SteamVR, Steam Link and more at GDC] on Steam Database
  +
</ref>
*On March 19, Gabe Newell, when asked about ''Half-Life 3'', replied: "The only reason we'd go back and do like a super classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people just internally at Valve said they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why [they did]."<ref>http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/03/19/gabe-newell-discusses-possibility-of-half-life-3</ref> This, like all of Valve's other statements regarding ''Half-Life 3'', neither confirms nor denies the possibility that the game will eventually be made.
 
  +
*On March 19, Gabe Newell, touches on the future of the Half-Life, though neither confirms or denies future ventures with the series.<ref>[http://podcast.gameslice.com/1-gabe-newell-and-erik-johnson-from-valve #1: Gabe Newell and Erik Johnson from Valve] (at ~39:30) on GameSlice </ref> He discusses (paraphrased for conciseness):
*On June 17, Valve released a Beta for ''Dota 2 ''with the new Source 2 engine.<ref>[http://www.dota2.com/reborn/part3/ Dota 2 - Reborn Beta]</ref>
 
  +
**"''If somebody likes Team Fortress they'd like to see what we can do with Team Fortress, or Left 4 Dead, or Half-Life [...] we love all those games, we love all those characters, and universes, and storylines, and we have no shortage of opportunities.''"
* On July 24, ''The Know'' releases a YouTube video claiming to have received information from a source within Valve.<ref>{{YouTube|url=50lSIaSR3zc|text=Half-Life 3 Will Never Release, Here's Why - The Know
 
  +
**"''If you think of each of our franchises representing a tool, you just wanna pick up the right tool at the right time.''"
  +
**"''I'm a fan of TV shows, [...] I'm a fan of games, and I certainly understand why people are like, 'Hey, I remember this awesome experience and I'm starting to get worried that I'm never gonna get to have it again.' [...] so we understand it, and we feel that, and we think at the end of the day customers are gonna be really happy with where we spent our time and how we've turned that into entertainment for them.''"
  +
**"''The only reason we'd go back and do a super-classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people internally at Valve said that they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why [they did], but if you wanna do another Half-Life game, and you wanna ignore everything we've learned, [...] that seems like a bad choice, so we'll keep moving forward, but that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean.''"
 
*On June 17, Valve releases the beta for ''Dota 2'', the first game to utilize the Source 2 engine.<ref>[http://www.dota2.com/reborn/part3/ Dota 2 - Reborn Beta]</ref>
 
* On July 24, ''The Know'' releases a YouTube video claiming to have received information from an anonymous source within Valve.<ref>{{YouTube|url=50lSIaSR3zc|text=Half-Life 3 Will Never Release, Here's Why - The Know
 
}}</ref> The source provided the following:
 
}}</ref> The source provided the following:
 
** In 2009, Half-Life 3 was well into development, with a team of about 100 working on it, but a number of those those employees were later moved to projects that needed immediate attention at the time, such as ''Left 4 Dead 2'', ''Portal 2'', and ''Dota 2''.
 
** In 2009, Half-Life 3 was well into development, with a team of about 100 working on it, but a number of those those employees were later moved to projects that needed immediate attention at the time, such as ''Left 4 Dead 2'', ''Portal 2'', and ''Dota 2''.
Line 217: Line 197:
 
** Half-Life 3 is currently still in development, but only by a team of about 10. The script, story, and game events are complete.
 
** Half-Life 3 is currently still in development, but only by a team of about 10. The script, story, and game events are complete.
 
*On July 25, Marc Laidlaw replies to an email regarding ''The Know''<nowiki/>'s video. Laidlaw writes "I can't comment on Valve's internal process, but I can say that it sounds like someone is trolling. [...] in my experience at Valve, fear is the last thing that would ever drive a decision about what to work on."<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/valve/comments/3ekubs/marc_laidlaw_responds_to_fan_confirming_that_the/ Marc Laidlaw responds to fan, confirming that The Know's Rumor was FALSE] by [https://www.reddit.com/user/hitalec hitalec] on [[Wikipedia:Reddit|reddit]]</ref>He also expresses that "A Half-Life story [cannot] somehow exist outside of a game. [...] The Half-Life story is really only as good as the game that lets you play with it."
 
*On July 25, Marc Laidlaw replies to an email regarding ''The Know''<nowiki/>'s video. Laidlaw writes "I can't comment on Valve's internal process, but I can say that it sounds like someone is trolling. [...] in my experience at Valve, fear is the last thing that would ever drive a decision about what to work on."<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/valve/comments/3ekubs/marc_laidlaw_responds_to_fan_confirming_that_the/ Marc Laidlaw responds to fan, confirming that The Know's Rumor was FALSE] by [https://www.reddit.com/user/hitalec hitalec] on [[Wikipedia:Reddit|reddit]]</ref>He also expresses that "A Half-Life story [cannot] somehow exist outside of a game. [...] The Half-Life story is really only as good as the game that lets you play with it."
*On July 27, The Know releases a follow-up video presenting additional e-mail correspondence with Marc Laidlaw.<ref>{{YouTube|url=b67WZpn04SY|text=Half-Life 3 Follow-Up: Valve Writer Responds? - The Know
+
*On July 27, ''The Know'' releases a follow-up video presenting additional e-mail correspondence with Marc Laidlaw.<ref>{{YouTube|url=b67WZpn04SY|text=Half-Life 3 Follow-Up: Valve Writer Responds? - The Know
 
}}</ref>
 
}}</ref>
 
**Laidlaw talks about Valve's process in regards to script. He writes "We feel our way forward in a way that resembles blind groping, especially in the beginning. I wouldn't even know what a script might contain until we've got a fair bit of gameplay that seems compelling. You have ideas for places, scenes, characters, but they are very very rough...sometimes reflected only in emails and conversations. Nothing like a design document or a script. This is my experience anyway." ''The Know'' comment that they think Laidlaw was interpreting the term 'script' differently than their source.
 
**Laidlaw talks about Valve's process in regards to script. He writes "We feel our way forward in a way that resembles blind groping, especially in the beginning. I wouldn't even know what a script might contain until we've got a fair bit of gameplay that seems compelling. You have ideas for places, scenes, characters, but they are very very rough...sometimes reflected only in emails and conversations. Nothing like a design document or a script. This is my experience anyway." ''The Know'' comment that they think Laidlaw was interpreting the term 'script' differently than their source.
Line 223: Line 203:
 
**''The Know'' conclude that both their original source and Laidlaw are probably telling the truth, they are just seeing the situation from two different perspectives. So what they told us was true, from a certain point of view.
 
**''The Know'' conclude that both their original source and Laidlaw are probably telling the truth, they are just seeing the situation from two different perspectives. So what they told us was true, from a certain point of view.
   
*On September 11, Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog<nowiki/>'s creative director and writer of ''The Last of Us'' and ''Uncharted 4'', stated interest in "[taking] care of the rest" in regards to the ''Half-Life'' franchise if Valve were to give them the license.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Neil_Druckmann/status/642013726514774016 "''...''give us the Half Life license and we'll take care of the rest''...''"] Neil Druckmann on Twitter</ref>
+
*On September 11, Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog<nowiki/>'s creative director and writer of ''The Last of Us'' and ''Uncharted 4'', states interest in "[taking] care of the rest" in regards to the ''Half-Life'' franchise if Valve were to give them the license.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Neil_Druckmann/status/642013726514774016 "''...''give us the Half Life license and we'll take care of the rest''...''"] Neil Druckmann on Twitter</ref>
*On September 24, Chet Faliszek, co-writer of ''Half-Life 2: Episode One'', ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', ''Portal'', and ''Portal 2'', stated that ''Half-Life 3'' would not be in VR.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Ea6NqxnY4#t=35m53s Valve's Chet Faliszek Reveals the Year Ahead for HTC Vive Steam VR - EGX 2015 Developer Session],
+
*On September 24, Chet Faliszek, co-writer on the ''Half-Life'' and ''Portal ''franchises, stated that ''Half-Life 3'' would not be in VR.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Ea6NqxnY4#t=35m53s Valve's Chet Faliszek Reveals the Year Ahead for HTC Vive Steam VR - EGX 2015 Developer Session],
 
EGX on YouTube
 
EGX on YouTube
 
</ref>
 
</ref>
*On October 10, an update for ''Dota 2'' revealed four files called "hl3.txt", "rpg.txt", "lights.txt" and "ai_basenpc.txt" describing possible features like VR support, quests and NPC squads.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/what-are-the-leaked-hl3-txt-and-rpg-txt-files-all-about.246431/ WHAT ARE THE LEAKED "HL3.TXT" AND "RPG.TXT" FILES ALL ABOUT?] on ValveTime.net</ref>
+
*On October 10, an update for ''Dota 2'' is released that includes four files: 'hl3.txt', 'rpg.txt', 'lights.txt', and 'ai_basenpc.txt'. They describe possible features such as VR support, quests and NPC squads.<ref>[http://www.valvetime.net/threads/what-are-the-leaked-hl3-txt-and-rpg-txt-files-all-about.246431/ What are the leaked "hl3.txt" and "rpg.txt" files all about?] on ValveTime.net</ref>
*On December 15, VRFocus reported that in a recent interview with Ken Birdwell, a software developer at Valve who worked on ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', and ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', "suggested that a ''Half-Life'' VR video game would 'fatigue' players within five minutes, although it's possible that the company uses the series' fiction to build a new kind of experience."<ref>[http://vrfocus.com/archives/26588/valve-half-life-vr-would-fatigue-players-in-5-minutes/ Valve: Half-Life VR Would 'fatigue' Players in 5 Minutes] on VRFocus </ref>
+
*On December 15, VRFocus reports that in a recent interview with Ken Birdwell, a software developer at Valve who worked on most of the titles in the ''Half-Life'' franchise, "suggested that a ''Half-Life'' VR video game would 'fatigue' players within five minutes, although it's possible that the company uses the series' fiction to build a new kind of experience."<ref>[http://vrfocus.com/archives/26588/valve-half-life-vr-would-fatigue-players-in-5-minutes/ Valve: Half-Life VR Would 'fatigue' Players in 5 Minutes] on VRFocus </ref>
*On December 6, ''Half-Life 3'' among other games appear on a leaked Steam Database list.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1151748 Steam Helpdesk Site: Lots of upcoming games maybe leak, slowly getting confirmed] on NeoGAF</ref>
+
*On December 6, ''Half-Life 3'' among other titles appear on a leaked Steam Database list.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1151748 Steam Helpdesk Site: Lots of upcoming games maybe leak, slowly getting confirmed] on NeoGAF</ref>
   
 
=== 2016 ===
 
=== 2016 ===
* On January 8, ''Half-Life'' writer Marc Laidlaw confirms his recent resign from Valve and retirement from video game writing.<ref>[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-writer-marc-laidlaw-confirms-valve-retir/1100-6433621/ Half-Life Writer Marc Laidlaw Confirms Valve Retirement] on GameSpot</ref>
+
* On January 8, ''Half-Life'' writer Marc Laidlaw confirms his recent resignation from Valve and retirement from video game writing.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/3zzmi2/sent_an_email_to_marc_laidlaw_about_hl3_he/ Sent an email to Marc Laidlaw about HL3. He answered.] by [https://www.reddit.com/user/TeddyWolf TeddyWolf] on [[wikipedia:Reddit|reddit]]</ref>
  +
* On February 7, ''Half-Life ''animator Doug Wood confirms his recent resignation from Valve and retirement from video game animation.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR8WlQ8O4Vg</ref>
  +
* On March 11, J.J. Abrams confirms that the ''Half-Life'' and ''Portal'' movies have writers attached to the projects.<ref>[http://au.ign.com/articles/2016/03/12/jj-abrams-portal-half-life-movies-still-happening J.J. ABRAMS: PORTAL, HALF-LIFE MOVIES STILL HAPPENING]</ref>
   
 
==References==
 
==References==
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Revision as of 20:37, 6 April 2016

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Wiki spoiler This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!
Half-Life 3 logo

Fan-made Half-Life 3 logo, based on official shirt as seen below.

Since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Two in October 2007, there has been very little news from Valve on the next Half-Life game.

Half-Life 2: Episode Three, the third and final installment of the Half-Life 2 episodes, was expected to follow soon after Episode Two, as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months.[1] However, as of March 2024, three pieces of concept art are all Valve have shown of the next game. Since then, Valve has released eight other games.

Some fans believe Valve has scrapped the episodic model and is now working on a full sequel entitled Half-Life 3, but Valve employees have consistently refused to comment on the status or nature of the next Half-Life game, much to the displeasure of their fanbase.[2][3] Despite general satisfaction with the games Valve has made since Episode Two, the next Half-Life game continues to be their most anticipated title, and since the long-awaited release of Duke Nukem Forever in 2011, it has become gaming's most infamous case of continuing vaporware.

Timeline of released information

Half Life 2 Episode Three concept 2

Combine Advisors around the Borealis in the first Episode Three concept art image, released in 2007.

Advisor Intothepixel

Gordon Freeman face to face with an Advisor in the second Episode Three concept art image, created and released in 2008.

Borealis Advisors

Combine Advisors around the Borealis in the third and last Episode Three concept art image, released in 2008.

What follows are the facts that have been revealed by Valve or found by gamers over the years about anything relating to the future of the Half-Life franchise.

Before 2006

In 1999, the domain half-life3.com is registered under the same details as half-life2.com, with Valve cited as the contact.[4] The URL used to redirect to The Orange Box website, but now returns a blank page.

2006

  • In May, Episode Three is announced for a Christmas 2007 release.[5]
  • The same month, it is revealed that a new Episode will be released every six to eight months, and will take four to six hours to complete. An Episode Four, developed outside of Valve and with a stand-alone plot, is also mentioned.[1][6]

2007

  • In a May interview given by David Speyrer and Doug Lombardi about the development of Episode Three, it is stated that a lot of work has gone into creating a natural progress of topography and climate between Two and Three, and that the player will not head back to City 17, at least not in this game. Furthermore, Speyrer does not want to comment about speculation started by PC Gamer UK on the game's climax being a battle set at an Arctic research station.[8]
  • In October, Episode Two is released. At the end of the game, Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance are about to leave to Arctic locations, in search of Judith Mossman and the newly recovered Borealis, the Aperture Science icebreaker, suggesting this is what the sequel to Episode Two will be about.
  • In a November interview, David Speyrer explains that an Episode Three teaser at the end of Episode Two was deliberately omitted to avoid ruining the mood the player would have been in after the final scene by having it followed by a high action trailer. Another reason was to give them more creative freedom, and avoid being committed to anything seen in the potential trailer, stating they are trying to do "something pretty ambitious". He also states they did not want to make the same mistake as with the Episode Two trailer featured at the end of Episode One, as it is radically different from the finished game.[9]
  • In November as well, the first concept art for Episode Three is released by GamesRadar.[10]
  • In December, Episode Three is said to be only the end of the current Half-Life 2 story arc, not the end of the overall Half-Life franchise, nor the episodic releases, with even more episodic games unconnected to the current story arc to be made.[11] This hints at the Episode Four mentioned in 2006.

2008

  • In March, concept images are uploaded to Andrea Wicklund's Picasa portfolio. The images are later leaked, and the original images taken down.[12][13] They are presented below.In April, source code for three entities is released in the Source SDK in a folder named "Episode3", before being removed shortly after. They include "npc_combine_armored" (a heavily armored Combine soldier with separate shields for each part of its body), "npc_wpnscanner" (a scanner shooting bolts), and "weapon_proto1" (appearing in the Source Particle Benchmark and Episode Two as a test weapon). However, it is later stated by Valve's Tony Sergi that the code is a leftover of old material.[14]
  • In an October interview, Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi states that news or an announcement of Episode Three might be revealed near the end of the year.[16] In that interview, Lombardi also states that the distance between Episode Two and its sequel will be longer than the distance between the three current Half-Life 2 games.[16]
  • In December, video footage of what is presented as an Alpha version of Episode Three is released. It is later revealed to be a fan-made set of maps.[17][18]

2009

  • While the community is expecting an announcement on the future of the Half-Life franchise on June 1, Left 4 Dead 2 is announced instead,[19] instantly leading to the creation of the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott Steam group. Following that pattern, on June 4, a petition named Message to Valve is created on the Steam forums by user Surfrock22, requesting more communication between Valve and the Half-Life fanbase (referred to in the thread as Valve's "oldest and longest running fanbase"), thus publicly release some information about the future of the Half-Life franchise.[20][21]
  • In an August video involving Gabe Newell and two interpreters discussing deafness and video games with a small audience of hearing-impaired people, the inclusion of an unidentified deaf character in a future game set in the Half-Life and Portal universe is said to be tested by Valve, as a new gameplay and Source engine feature aimed at providing better support for hearing-impaired players. Newell suggests that before Alyx met Gordon, she had a crush on a hearing impaired Resistance member, so she programmed Dog with knowledge of sign language so she could practice and easily communicate with him. Then this person went away from Alyx to fight the Combine someplace else, and Alyx and Dog started signing with each other when they wanted to communicate without making noise or without other people knowing.[22]
  • The same month, Newell explains in an interview that Valve is experimenting many techniques on their games, including Episode Three. He adds he has currently nothing to say about the game, and that the community will be notified as soon as they have material they are ready to share.[23]

2010

Ep3hints

List of the hint nodes found in the Alien Swarm SDK.

  • In a March interview, Newell hints that Valve intends to return the Half-Life franchise to its psychological horror roots by exploiting the fans' deepest fears, which he sums up as "the death of their children" and "the fading of their own abilities".[24]
  • The same month, the Portal ARG is launched. At the beginning, the community starts to speculate it is related to Episode Three,[25] until it is revealed the ARG is promoting the upcoming Portal 2.
  • In an April interview, Gabe Newell states that Gordon Freeman will go unchanged in the next Half-Life game - he wants him to "largely remain an arm and a crowbar." There also are no plans to make him a talking character, as Newell considers making the player's companions more interesting and compelling seems a more fruitful avenue to explore.[26]
  • Shortly after Alien Swarm is released in July, unused hint nodes are found in its SDK, under the names "Ep3 Blob Shake Position", "Ep3 Fire Cover Position", "Ep3 Brain Cover Position", "Ep3 Brain Regenerate Position", "Ep3 Spit Position", "Ep3 Spawn Generator Position", and "Aperture: Nest". Given the prefix "Ep3" and the use of the name "Aperture", these may be leftovers of the sequel to Episode Two.[27]
  • In an August interview, Doug Lombardi states they hate to make the community wait, but that they have no announcements regarding Gordon Freeman or his ongoing adventures at this time.[28]

2011

Fan pickets HL3 gabe

The two Half-Life fans picketing outside of Valve met by Gabe Newell in August 2011.

HL3 t-shirt

The Half-Life 3 T-shirt as photographed by Chandana Ekanayake on December 1, 2011.

  • In February, Chet Faliszek states that Valve is "not prepared to talk about [Episode Three] at the moment".[29]
  • When asked about the future of the Half-Life series in a March interview, Doug Lombardi states that they are not done with Gordon Freeman's adventures, and advises the community to "hang in there" with them, without further detail.[30]
  • On April 19, Portal 2 is released. The same day, The Final Hours of Portal 2 is released. In it, author Geoff Keighley states that Portal 2 is probably Valve's last game with an isolated single-player experience. This is misunderstood by many members of the community as the simple end of single-player games made by Valve, which is negated by Gabe Newell in a May interview, in which he states that Valve is not done with single-player games, but rather done with single-player games as we know them today, and that they will transform into "single-player plus" games, thus single-player games with social components added to them. He reckons that entertainment is inherently increased in value by having it be social, letting people play with their friends, and recognizing that they are connected with other people, and that they have to work on adding this to their single-player games.[31]
  • In another May interview, Newell states that Valve is done with the episodic model as we know it, now rather updating the same game as much as they want through Steam, which was introduced with Team Fortress 2.[32] This suggests that the next Half-Life game will not be in the vein of its two predecessors, leading the community to speculate that Valve has moved to a larger project.
  • The same month, the Portal 2 SDK is released. In the files, code for an NPC named "Combine Advisor - Roaming" is found by users, and is shortly removed in a subsequent update.[33]
  • In May again, several .vcd choreography files labeled "magnuss" are found in Portal 2's VPK cache. They are named "magnuss_get_going.vcd", "magnuss_idle.vcd", "magnuss_nopoint.vcd", "magnuss_shakehead.vcd", and "magnuss_wave.vcd", and appear to be for the model "magnusson.mdl", Arne Magnusson's model. They don't exist in the Episode Two files, where Magnusson's animations are prefixed "mag", suggesting they may be either old discarded animations, or animations set to appear in the next Half-Life game.[34][35]
  • In June, at the Games for Change festival in New York, Gabe Newell delivers a keynote focusing largely on the educational benefits of games. When Newell asks the audience for any questions, someone asks when Episode Three is going to be released. Newell's answers "If you know enough to ask the question, you know enough what the answer is."[36]
  • On August 11 and 12, three fans picket outside of the Valve headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, requesting information about Episode Three / Half-Life 3. Gabe Newell in person comes out to speak with them, they go for lunch together, and are also given a tour of the offices by Erik Johnson, as well as pizza, playtesting of Dota 2, and some goodies. However upon being asked when a new Half-Life was coming out, Newell merely answered "I can't tell you.". The first day counts two fans only, and they are joined with a third one on the second day. The texts on their signs include "CANADA 4 THE RELEASE OF HALF LIFE 3", "HALF LIFE 3... IS IT LEFT 4 DEAD?", "HOW DID JUDITH GET TO THE ARCTIC SO QUICKLY? (rest unseen)" "I COULDN'T THINK OF A NEW SIGN... BUT YOU KNOW WHAT WE WANT (HL 3)", among others. As a Microsoft building is located nearby, presumably a Valve employee gave the picketers four humorous small signs to show, such as one asking Microsoft to bring back the former MS Office mascot "Clippy". The protesters claim that their picketing is not meant to be a serious protest but rather a joke; they just had free time on their hands, and felt like "chillin', maxin' relaxin' all cool" outside of Valve. Following the "protest", Kotaku also asked Newell if he had anything to say about a new game, to which he simply replied "I got nothing for you.".[37][38][39][40][41]
  • Around September 19th, a Vietnamese beta tester leaks Dota 2’s entire game client, as well as all of its files, to the Internet. Among the various files can be found code referring to a folder named "ep3", pointing at what appears to be weapons: "weapon_icegun", "weaponizer_concrete", "weaponizer_liquid", "weaponizer_metal", and "weapon_flamethrower".[42] However, around September 23 Chet Faliszek states that the code doesn't mean anything and shouldn't be taken as fact.[43]
  • December 2011 sees several rumors about a Half-Life ARG, and that Gabe Newell has given the go-ahead to those in the know to drop Half-Life hints. Fans see what may be hints in Wheatley's "Character of the Year" award acceptance video for the Spike TV 2011 Video Game Awards, several fake official e-mails are shared, cryptic information is revealed through an unofficial Twitter account for Doug Rattmann, and an unofficial website, Black-Aperture.com, reveals other cryptic messages. All is debunked by Valve through Gabe Newell, Marc Laidlaw and Chet Faliszek.[44][45][46][47]
  • On December 1, Chandana Ekanayake, part of Seattle-based game developer Uber Entertainment, sees what he believes to be a Valve employee wearing what appears to be a Half-Life 3 T-shirt at a local developer event, and asks his permission to take a photo of the T-shirt as he is a huge fan of the series. Upon being asked if he knows anything about Half-Life 3, he appears to know nothing.[48][49] On December 1, a fan named Alexei asks series' writer Marc Laidlaw about the validity of the T-shirt; he confirms its existence but has nothing else to elaborate on.[50]
  • On December 9, an anonymous US-based voice actor reveals that Valve has recorded lines for "Half Life: Episode 3" (sic). This leads to rumors that the next Half-Life game will be unveiled at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards on December 10.[51] However, this doesn't occur.
  • During the Steam Holiday Sale, Valve drops several Half-Life references in their sale artwork. In the comic Randolph the Red-Nosed Turret released December 22, 3 socks are hung on the mantelpiece, for Gordon, Alyx and Dog. Above is the landscape seen by Chell when she reaches the outside at the end of Portal 2, with 3 clouds in the sky. Furthermore, in the image placed at the end of the slideshow of day 5 of the Holiday Sale (December 23) showing the Steam mascots riding with Santa Claus in his sleigh,[52] one of the mascots is holding a golden Lambda necklace with 3 specks of light on it, among other things. This further fed rumors and speculation among the fanbase about imminent news about a new Half-Life game.[53]
  • On December 23, voice actor John Patrick Lowrie debunks on his personal blog the words of the anonymous voice actor from December 9 by stating in the comments on a post about his wife Ellen McLain being nominated for a VGA award that he hasn't heard anything yet about a new Half-Life game, and thus has not recorded anything yet. He states, among other things: "No Half Life 3 stuff yet. Haven’t heard anything." and "Ellen and I haven’t heard anything about a new Half Life episode.[54] He later repeats this lack of knowledge on March 23rd, 2012
  • On December 26, the petition launched in 2009 on the Steam Users' Forums (more than 1,600 signatures as of February 2012)[20][21] evolves to a Steam group named "A Call for Communication (Half-Life)" (more than 50,000 members as of February 2012).[2]

2012

  • On January 9, several references to the Half-Life series are found in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta files, namely being several whiteboard texture files for the map "Office", containing the names of several Half-Life 2 main characters, among other things.[55]
  • On January 5, "Operation Crowbar" is launched on the Steam Users' Forums, as another form of protest against Valve's silence on the future of the Half-Life franchise (the operation also has its dedicated Steam group). It involves buying crowbars and mailing them to Valve, or, as a cheaper alternative, spam Valve's e-mail accounts and Facebook page with pictures of crowbars or crowbar-related puns.[3]
  • On January 10, IGN's editor Charles Onyett speculates that, based on industry trends, 2012 will be the year Valve finally starts talking about Half-Life 3, and believes Valve might be waiting for details from Sony and Microsoft on their next-generation consoles before announcing anything.[56]
  • Following Ekanayake's information about the Half-Life 3 T-shirt, Garry Newman, creator of Garry's Mod, trolls the community on January 12 by showing a fake Half-Life 3 T-shirt on his Twitter, claiming it was sent by Valve.[58]
  • On February 4, the Steam group "A Call for Communication" organizes "A Red Letter Day", a group event which involves playing Half-Life 2, aimed at putting the franchise back in the spotlight, drawing more people to their cause and simply "be a huge group of Half-Life fans playing one of the best games ever made". Though hopes also are that Half-Life 2 would reach the top ten games played for that day, it only reaches #11, with a maximum of 13,216 concurrent players.[60][60][61] A website is also launched the previous day to mark the event and coordinate the future ones.
  • In April, Gabe Newell is interviewed by the Seven Day Cooldown podcast. His interviewer asked, "My final question and the question in the back of all your fans' minds and everyone has been waiting to ask you for a long time: When can we expect the release of Ricochet 2?" An audibly amused Newell responded, "In terms of Ricochet 2, we always have this problem that when we talk about things too far in advance, we end up changing our minds as we're going through and developing stuff, so as we're thinking through the giant story arc which is Ricochet 2, you might get to a point where you're saying something is surprising us in a positive way and something is surprising us in a negative way, and, you know, we'd like to be super-transparent about the future of Ricochet 2. The problem is, we think that the twists and turns that we're going through would probably drive people more crazy than just being silent about it, until we can be very crisp about what's happening next." It seems more than likely that the term "Ricochet 2" is a code-name for "Half-Life 3" as Ricochet itself was a multiplayer mod for the original Half-Life that is considered one of the worst games Valve has released (and more importantly, does not even have a plot). When asked if those working on the project have moved on to other games, he responds, "No, everybody who has worked on Ricochet 2 continues to work on Ricochet 2."[62]
  • On June 1, the Twitter account "BreenGrub" begins posting.[63] Marc Laidlaw, the main writer of the Half-Life series later confirms, "Basically it's me writing Dr. Breen fanfic" He later explains, "I personally cannot give the world a Half-Life game. All I can personally do, at least for now, is stuff like this."[64]
  • On June 9, Gabe Newell appears in a video blacksmithing a crowbar. He is asked, "Hey, is that about ready?" to which he replies, "These things, they take time."[65][66]
  • On August 17, a video is released in which Gabe Newell jokingly says, "You'll never get Half-Life 3 if you eat me."[67] This suggest that the game, if released, would be called "Half-Life 3".
  • On August 14, Mad Catz publishes a computer-generated promotional video for their new keyboard in which a Half-Life 3 logo is visible among other icons.[68]

2013

  • On February 6, Gabe Newell, and J.J. Abrams of Bad Robot Productions held a presentation together, titled 'Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?' In the presentation, Abrams revealed, "There's an idea we have for a game that we'd like to work with Valve on." Newell then responded, "We're super excited about that, and we're also interested in working with you guys on movies. So, we're going to figure out if we can make a Portal movie or Half-Life movie together. But it's really time for us and for industries to stop talking about potentials and try to execute on them."[69] This was the first official announcement on Half-Life series since 2011.
  • On March 28, 2013, David Goldfarb, a video game designer, tweeted "Saw Valve today. They have very nice things.", a user replied "hl3 confirmed?" to which Goldfarb said "my silence must be interpreted as silence." the user replied again with, "Reply to this tweet if hl3 is confirmed." Goldfarb replied with, "I will show my answer with some interpretative dance. Look closely."[70]
  • On June 19, Valve's internal Half-Life 3 group list is leaked. The mailing list includes 42 people. Valve had approximately 300 employees at the time.[71]
  • On August 15, John Patrick Lowrie, a voice actor in many of Valve's games, claims that Half-Life 3 hasn't been released yet because Valve is still working on better motion capture technology which would allow in-game characters to adjust their movements depending on player's actions.[72] Lowrie later clarified "The most important thing to know about voice actors is that we’re the last to know anything. [...] whatever Gabe Newell has to say about a project is the best info you’re going to get."[73]
  • On August 20, a fan who had recently toured Valve's headquarters shares what their guide had told them about Half-Life 3. "If I told you anything about it you'd just have more questions. We only have elements. Bits and pieces of game. No structure. No story."[74]
  • On September 1, Valve's Half-Life 3 group list is leaked again. The list now includes 46 people, 4 more than last time. Also leaked is a new "Half-Life 3 Core" list, including 10 people from the larger group.[75]
  • On September 29, the trademark "HALF-LIFE 3" is filed,[76] and three days later on October 2, "PORTAL 3" is filed.[77] Both trademarks are apparently filed by Valve, but later disappear.

2014

  • On January 3, an interview with Gabe Newell is released. In it he explains "When we started out we were a single-player video game company that could have been really successful just doing Half-Life sequel after Half-Life sequel, but we collectively said let's try to make multi-player games even though there's never been a commercial successful multiplayer game."[78]
  • On May 23, former Valve employee, Minh Le, who left five years earlier, stated that he had seen concept art of what looked like it was in the Half-Life universe.[79]

2015

  • On March 3, Valve officially announced the Source 2 engine.[80]
  • On March 19, Gabe Newell, touches on the future of the Half-Life, though neither confirms or denies future ventures with the series.[81] He discusses (paraphrased for conciseness):
    • "If somebody likes Team Fortress they'd like to see what we can do with Team Fortress, or Left 4 Dead, or Half-Life [...] we love all those games, we love all those characters, and universes, and storylines, and we have no shortage of opportunities."
    • "If you think of each of our franchises representing a tool, you just wanna pick up the right tool at the right time."
    • "I'm a fan of TV shows, [...] I'm a fan of games, and I certainly understand why people are like, 'Hey, I remember this awesome experience and I'm starting to get worried that I'm never gonna get to have it again.' [...] so we understand it, and we feel that, and we think at the end of the day customers are gonna be really happy with where we spent our time and how we've turned that into entertainment for them."
    • "The only reason we'd go back and do a super-classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people internally at Valve said that they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why [they did], but if you wanna do another Half-Life game, and you wanna ignore everything we've learned, [...] that seems like a bad choice, so we'll keep moving forward, but that doesn't necessarily always mean what people are worried that it might mean."
  • On June 17, Valve releases the beta for Dota 2, the first game to utilize the Source 2 engine.[82]
  • On July 24, The Know releases a YouTube video claiming to have received information from an anonymous source within Valve.[83] The source provided the following:
    • In 2009, Half-Life 3 was well into development, with a team of about 100 working on it, but a number of those those employees were later moved to projects that needed immediate attention at the time, such as Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, and Dota 2.
    • Valve's management isn't at all interested in the game's release, as they have no business incentive, already making plentiful revenue from Steam and their freemium games (Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2), and furthermore they are afraid of receiving intense negative backlash similar to the Mass Effect 3 controversy if the game isn't perfect. In response, they have moved resources away from the project to keep it from moving forward. (The source also states that the Mass Effect 3 controversy was a critical factor in their decision to move resources away from the project, and that this is commonly referenced in Valve management when asked internally about the matter.)
    • Half-Life 3 is currently still in development, but only by a team of about 10. The script, story, and game events are complete.
  • On July 25, Marc Laidlaw replies to an email regarding The Know's video. Laidlaw writes "I can't comment on Valve's internal process, but I can say that it sounds like someone is trolling. [...] in my experience at Valve, fear is the last thing that would ever drive a decision about what to work on."[84]He also expresses that "A Half-Life story [cannot] somehow exist outside of a game. [...] The Half-Life story is really only as good as the game that lets you play with it."
  • On July 27, The Know releases a follow-up video presenting additional e-mail correspondence with Marc Laidlaw.[85]
    • Laidlaw talks about Valve's process in regards to script. He writes "We feel our way forward in a way that resembles blind groping, especially in the beginning. I wouldn't even know what a script might contain until we've got a fair bit of gameplay that seems compelling. You have ideas for places, scenes, characters, but they are very very rough...sometimes reflected only in emails and conversations. Nothing like a design document or a script. This is my experience anyway." The Know comment that they think Laidlaw was interpreting the term 'script' differently than their source.
    • He also says "I can never report on the state of projects at Valve except in the context of product release publicity. [...] It is possible that whoever the anonymous source is might be or have been a Valve employee, but nothing I've heard leads me to believe they know anything relevant."
    • The Know conclude that both their original source and Laidlaw are probably telling the truth, they are just seeing the situation from two different perspectives. So what they told us was true, from a certain point of view.
  • On September 11, Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog's creative director and writer of The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, states interest in "[taking] care of the rest" in regards to the Half-Life franchise if Valve were to give them the license.[86]
  • On September 24, Chet Faliszek, co-writer on the Half-Life and Portal franchises, stated that Half-Life 3 would not be in VR.[87]
  • On October 10, an update for Dota 2 is released that includes four files: 'hl3.txt', 'rpg.txt', 'lights.txt', and 'ai_basenpc.txt'. They describe possible features such as VR support, quests and NPC squads.[88]
  • On December 15, VRFocus reports that in a recent interview with Ken Birdwell, a software developer at Valve who worked on most of the titles in the Half-Life franchise, "suggested that a Half-Life VR video game would 'fatigue' players within five minutes, although it's possible that the company uses the series' fiction to build a new kind of experience."[89]
  • On December 6, Half-Life 3 among other titles appear on a leaked Steam Database list.[90]

2016

  • On January 8, Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw confirms his recent resignation from Valve and retirement from video game writing.[91]
  • On February 7, Half-Life animator Doug Wood confirms his recent resignation from Valve and retirement from video game animation.[92]
  • On March 11, J.J. Abrams confirms that the Half-Life and Portal movies have writers attached to the projects.[93]

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