The
Half-Life franchise kicked off in 1998 with the first instalment.
Half-Life 2 followed in two parts — one releasing in 2006 and the other in 2007. Since then, the video game franchise has laid dormant with many fans firmly crossing their fingers in hopes that it would one day return.
Yesterday, Valve announced Half-Life: Alyx. The first
Half-Life game in over a decade and it's a virtual reality one which is canonically set between the events of the aforementioned pair of games and will be releasing in March of next year (via Steam). While
Half-Life: Alyx is certainly exciting and looks like it could be the best VR game yet, it isn't the fabled
Half-Life 3.
However! In a recent interview with
The Verge, long-time Valve developer David Speyrer teased that
Half-Life: Alyx could lead to many more games in the franchise. In fact, many at Valve have apparently been raring to return to
Half-Life. Here's what Speyrer told the site when asked whether we should expect more from the franchise beyond
Half-Life: Alyx:
Yes. It's probably no surprise that many people at Valve have been wanting to get back to the Half-Life universe for a long time, and this experience has only reinforced that. In the process of creating Half-Life: Alyx, we've had to explore new ways to tell stories with these characters and this world, and we've discovered a lot of new gameplay experiences that go beyond what we've been able to do before.
Speyrer continued, mentioning that it all really depends on the success of
Half-Life: Alyx.
"Of course, we'll have to wait and see how people react to Half-Life: Alyx once it's out, but we'd love to continue pushing forward." So, if you're raring to reprise the role of Gordon Freeman and take on some headcrabs with a crowbar, you'd better support the upcoming VR game!
Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival.
Half-Life: Alyx is set to release via Steam in March 2020.