Valve has been holding off on releasing anything Half-Life related for years after the launch of Half-Life 2 and it’s been something of an ongoing joke. Most would toy with the idea of Valve releasing Half-Life 3 and out of the blue, we got the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx. While it’s not the Half-Life 3 that most fans were hoping for, it’s a prequel to Half-Life 2 and will bring fans back to the Half-Life universe.
There are some big changes to Half-Life: Alyx compared to the other installments. It’s a game-changer in a sense as players will be going through the title in VR. As a result, there is some necessary hardware required in order to get the game up and running for the PC platform. If you have a gaming PC and a compatible VR headset, then you’re ready to go, but there are still plenty of fans who are hoping that Half-Life would return back to a traditional video game title.
While we’re just a few weeks away from the launch of Half-Life: Alyx, there is a new interview from Valve’s Robin Walker that unveils more content is coming for the Half-Life IP. The developer spoke with Game Informer who claims that the franchise is still incredibly rewarding and one that the studio has thoroughly enjoyed going back to develop this upcoming VR title.
Half-Life means a lot to us, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to refamiliarize ourselves with its characters, setting, and mechanics. There are Half-Life: Alyx team members who have been at Valve since Half-Life 2, and quite a few who go back to the original Half-Life. There are also people on the team for whom Half-Life: Alyx is their first time working on this series at all – and many of them certainly hope it’s not the last. We absolutely see Half-Life: Alyx as our return to this world, not the end of it.
With some developers veterans from Half-Life 2 and newcomers alike, it’s clear that the studio is hoping that this is not the last we see of the franchise. In Robin’s eyes, this is purely the return to the Half-Life world and not something they consider to be the end of it.