Summary
Half-Life 3, the never-made game that can’t be forgotten, is back on everyone’s radar aftera leak suggested that Valve is officially developing the project. Having become one of the longest-running memes on the internet, theHalf-Lifefandom is unable to shake rumors that Gordon Freeman and his crowbar are on the verge of a major comeback given that whisperings of a third installment have swirled since the release ofHalf-Life 2: Episode 2in 2007. There’s still little in the way of confirmation, but the most recent leak is the closest thing to an official update in some years.
Per a Reddit post byKekanKok,voice actor Natasha Chandel posted on her website that she’s involved in something going by the codename Project White Sandswhich is in development at Valve; Chandel’s website is no longer accessible at the time of writing.
The studio is notably already working on a hero shooter namedDeadlock, driving speculation that Chandel is referring to something else.Half-Life 3is currently the favored speculation given thatWhite Sands is the name of both a national park and a military testing range in New Mexico, the state that housed Black Mesa’s main base of operations.
Will Half-Life 3 Be In VR Like Alyx?
Half-Life: Alyx changed what gamers have come to expect out of VR games, but does Valve’s release mean that Half-Life 3 will also be a VR exclusive?
Could This Really Be Half-Life 3?
Never Give Up Hope
Half-Life 3may widely be considered an impossibility at this point but it’s worth noting that Valve has actively been making an effort to return to game development. Aside from the aforementionedDeadlock, which is currentlythe studio’s worst-kept secretafter several substantial leaks,Valve recently releasedCounter-Strike 2, a revamped version of its hit competitive shooter. While it wasn’t a vast departure fromCounter-Strike, enough changes were made to warrant a separate release that impressed the entire community.
Having said that, while many may jump to the conclusion thatHalf-Life 3is happening thanks to the vague reference to Nex Mexico, it’s entirely possible thatProject White Sands could take the form of something closer toHalf-Life: Alyx. The VR-exclusive game, which is revered as one of the best experiences of its kind, didn’t serve as a third mainline entry in the franchise. Rather, it was a prequel that didn’t provide any answers toHalf-Life 2: Episode 2’s cliffhanger ending.
Whether or not Project White Sands does turn out to beHalf-Life 3,it’s difficult to imagine the threequel living up to nearly two decades of hype. Valve has repeatedly stated thatit’s reluctant to simply developHalf-Lifegames to make quarterly numbers, insisting that it needs a good reason to return to the franchise. Perhaps the success ofAlyxandCounter-Strikesis the sign it’s been looking for.
