These short games, each around four to six hours, were presented as stopgaps before the next big leap of Half-Life 3. Instead of a full-fledged sequel to Half-Life 2, Valve released Half-Life 2: Episode 1 in 2006, followed by Episode 2 a year later.

Coupled with a much grander story and improved graphics, it was unsurprisingly the most lauded release of 2004. With the introduction of the Gravity Gun, players could now manipulate environmental objects in a way that wasn’t shooting and blowing them up. Narrative was now expected in first-person shooters, so Newell and company decided to work on something different: physics. Using the company’s new Source engine, the sequel cost $40 million to develop and pushed a new set of envelopes. Six years later, Half-Life 2 did it again. Let’s delve into what Half-Life meant to an earlier generation of gamers, as well as where-and if-it fits into the modern world. But will it be enough to stand out in a world that has seemingly moved beyond the franchise? Fans were upset, then annoyed, and then eventually resigned to the belief that Valve had just given up.Īnd then, an unexpected announcement: Alyx will bring gamers back to the world of Half-Life, with an all new adventure in virtual reality. Gabe Newell’s juggernaut of a company has always practiced a “when it’s done” approach to their games, but when it came to the third full Half-Life game, “when it’s done” is apparently “never.” Originally slated for a 2007 release, the game just… never happened. That’s because it’s Half-Life: Alyx, the first installment in Valve’s company-defining franchise in thirteen years. There are a lot of games coming out this year, but one particular title has received an outsized amount of media attention, despite being yet another VR first-person shooter.

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Half life 3 announcement