At Valve, they are busy with the Steam Machine and the newly released Steam Controller, but that doesn’t mean they are not still making games. Deadlock has been in closed alpha since at least August 2024, and its official release could happen any day now. But what everyone is waiting for is the third installment of a legendary game. Everyone is waiting for Half-Life 3. Everyone except, apparently, Chet Faliszek, the writer of Half-Life 2, Portal, and Left 4 Dead.
It’s hard to write a series with so much baggage
In a recent video published on YouTube, the screenwriter wanted to reflect on his experience writing about video games. Clarifying that he does not want to imply that Half-Life 3 is being produced, in the video he emphasizes how his perspective on writing video games has changed. Especially, due to the reception that the franchise has had over time.
In that sense, he has stated that the problem he sees in making Half-Life 3 is that it has too much associated story. It has an enormous amount of baggage and he doesn’t believe it will be easy to tackle. In his own words, “I don’t want to touch anything that has a huge backstory”. He shields himself by saying that he doesn’t want to create something that will be scrutinized by fans in a way that any contradiction will be considered a sacrilege and a cause for maximum personal offense.
This is something that Valve itself agrees with. Gabe Newell has stated in the past that if Half-Life 3 does not exist yet, it is because they do not want to make it unless they think they can create something as unique and special as the previous ones. Therefore, if this highly anticipated third installment is ever announced, we will know for sure that a journey like no other awaits us.