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00:00Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman. Rise and shine.
00:07Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're discussing 10 reasons for, and against, Half-Life 3 being released soon.
00:15Be warned, there are major spoilers for the entire series ahead.
00:19I think that I, maybe more than other people, realized just how big of a task we were setting for ourselves.
00:25Like, so I was a little bit daunted by that.
00:29Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:37Number five, might not. Valve have never made a third game.
00:50Valve has numerous series, such as Left 4 Dead, Half-Life, Portal, Dota, and Counter-Strike.
00:56Something they all have in common is that none of them have third games.
01:01Sure, Half-Life 2 Episode 1 is technically the third game in the series, but they conveniently titled it Episode 1.
01:08They also notoriously never released Half-Life 2 Episode 3.
01:13We'll see about that.
01:18No one knows why they're so afraid of trilogies. Some think they're focused on other projects like Steam and the Steam Deck.
01:25They also like to innovate in all their titles, but it could be difficult to innovate for three games in a row.
01:32When it comes to Half-Life 3, Valve could feel it's impossible to match the quality of the previous titles.
01:45Number five, might happen. Half-Life Alyx's ending.
01:49She's gone, Gordon. She's gone. Son of a bitch, it has no foreseen consequences.
01:54Half-Life Alyx is considered one of the best VR games of all time, and was the first major entry in the series since 2007.
02:02It's set between the first two games, showing Alyx's story before Freeman returns to City 17.
02:08Towards the end of the game, Alyx frees the G-Man from prison, intending to release Freeman.
02:14He gives Alyx a reward of her choice, which is to save her dad Eli from dying, which happens at the end of Episode 2.
02:29This retcons the ending, which writers said was particularly difficult to follow up.
02:34G-Man also captures Alyx, and it ends with Eli and Gordon deciding they must save her.
02:41Thus, opening up the possibility for a new entry, with Gordon as the lead.
02:53Number four, might not. Valve rarely makes games.
03:03In the 2000s, Valve was releasing at least one game a year, except 2002.
03:08This was a wildly productive period for them, which saw them become giants of the industry.
03:14They still release games, but it's way more rare.
03:17Counter-Strike 2 and Half-Life Alyx are their only major releases this decade,
03:22and the former felt like just an upgraded version of Global Offensive.
03:27It's not like they haven't been working hard, though, with the Steam Deck being the most powerful handheld on the market.
03:34They also maintain the competitive Counter-Strike and Dota scenes, and obviously, they manage Steam,
03:41a service used by over a hundred million gamers monthly.
03:49Number four, might happen. Half-Life 2 was released in the early 2000s,
03:55Half-Life 2 documentary teasing.
04:07Their recent Half-Life 2 documentary, celebrating the game's 20th anniversary,
04:11had some major hints toward a new entry in the series.
04:15Half-Life was a tool for Valve to innovate, which it did wonderfully for its first two games.
04:20Alyx kept up this trend, being the most innovative VR game to ever release.
04:25The documentary ended with Gabe Newell saying there was no shortage of opportunities for innovation in the industry right now.
04:39Either he's trying to motivate another company to come along and innovate,
04:43or he's heavily implying that he and the team are cooking something big.
04:51Clearly there was a ton in Half-Life 1 and 2, and so yeah, it's an interesting challenge moving forward
04:57to think about what that means for future Half-Life stuff, for sure.
05:01Number three, might not. Half-Life 3 story leak in 2017.
05:06I am, at the moment, the designated writer at Valve.
05:10I'm responsible for overseeing the script and story elements of the game.
05:15Mark Laidlaw was the lead writer for the Half-Life series,
05:18working for Valve right up until 2016 when he left the company.
05:22Only a year after leaving, Laidlaw published a story for the next Half-Life title in his blog.
05:28It was called Epistle 3, and had all the names changed and gender swapped for copyright reasons.
05:34Many thought it was the plan for Half-Life 2 Episode 3, which he denied, but later expressed regret for leaking.
05:41It's doubtful that Valve will carry it out as he wrote, especially with the development of Half-Life Alyx.
05:47Some wonder if this leak was enough to put them off continuing the series entirely,
05:51but it could have just motivated them to alter the story.
05:55There's no way that the player can predict what's going to happen.
05:58Number three, might happen. Talking candidly about Episode 3.
06:03Even into Episode 3, I still don't know what that would have been if we'd built it, because it hadn't been built.
06:09Valve is famously secretive about the games they develop.
06:13For years, no one knew if Half-Life 3 was ever on the table, and it became a myth.
06:19In their recent documentary, they talked more openly about Episode 3 than ever before.
06:24It turns out they paused the episode, needing more developers for Left 4 Dead, which was well worth it.
06:30I thought that we needed to go much bigger on Episode 3, or do something else.
06:37Afterwards, they discussed going back to Episode 3, but believed they were too late to put it out.
06:43Now, they believe this was a mistake, and wish they'd gone back to the title.
06:48The documentary also revealed small snippets of gameplay, concept art, and discussed what they made.
06:54Episode 3's coming along, and it's like, well, it's the new big thing here.
06:57It's got to be bigger than all the stuff we just did, even Episode 2.
07:01Number two, might not. Fear of disappointment.
07:14Both the first two Half-Life games were incredibly successful.
07:17On release, they were both considered the upper echelon of single-player shooters.
07:22For years, many believed Half-Life 2 was the greatest game of all time, and 20 years later, it still holds up.
07:30Granted, it's probably not still the best, but the argument was credible for a long time.
07:45Hence, the expectations for a sequel are immense, and Valve worries they might not live up to them.
07:51Thus, many believe this is a strong reason against it ever releasing.
07:55On the other hand, Source 2 is finally available, and the engine might deliver the experience fans desire.
08:12Number two, might happen. Hiring more experienced staff.
08:16People who are predominantly known for single-player experiences are being hired at Valve.
08:21Level design, concept design, VFX design, they're all joining Valve at a surprising rate.
08:26YouTuber Tyler McVicker has done an admirable job of discovering Half-Life 3 information.
08:31He discovered that Valve went on a mass hiring spree early on in the decade.
08:36They hired numerous former employees, and experienced developers from companies like Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch.
08:42Between the years of 2021 and 2023, Valve has started to hire people from all over the industry, and much faster than before.
08:50They could be hired just to work on Deadlock, but given the other points mentioned today, it's unlikely it's the only game they're working on.
08:58McVicker also discovered in the Deadlock files evidence of surface properties being added.
09:03This includes heat conductivity and flashpoints, so materials can realistically combust.
09:08This is an interesting feature, and McVicker is optimistic it will be used in the next Half-Life title.
09:23Number one, might not. Valve's shift in focus.
09:33Half-Life 3 might not be the next entry they're working on.
09:36There's a strong chance it could instead be similar to Alyx, and is sort of a spin-off.
09:41Their focus could be on taking the series in a different direction, which no one can predict.
09:46For example, Portal is set in the same universe as Half-Life, so maybe their next title is something new entirely, which could blend the two series.
09:56Plug me into that stick on the wall over there, yeah? And I'll show you something. You'll be impressed by this.
10:00The direction could be even more unpredictable, with them seeking to drift away from the previously planned Arctic expeditions.
10:07There's also the chance it's an entirely new series, but only time will tell.
10:12We're working on a bunch of different projects, and it's like, you know, people are passionate about Portal, people are passionate about TF,
10:18people are passionate about Left 4 Dead and Half-Life and, you know, CS and Dota, Deadlock. I mean, there's a lot of things there.
10:26Number one, might happen. Half-Life 2's newest update.
10:38After 20 years, a brand new update for Half-Life 2 was released, coinciding with the anniversary documentary.
10:45It includes in-game workshop support, updated graphics, and it's integrated the episodes into the original game.
10:52Additionally, they're currently working to introduce ray tracing to the title, which would give it an amazing graphical overhaul.
10:59They could just be doing this because they love the game, but a lot of people feel they're teasing something more.
11:04If they're going to make Half-Life 3, then surely it makes sense to test their new engine out first.
11:09And this update just might be that.
11:12I think you dropped this back in Black Mesa. Good luck out there, buddy. You're gonna need it.
11:21Do you think Half-Life 3 is finally on the horizon, or are we just setting ourselves up to be disappointed?
11:27Leave your thoughts in the comments.
11:29We're losing it again.
11:31I'm sorry. I'm all but certain it was Gordon Freeman.
11:36Check out these other great clips from Mojo Plays, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.