So your friend heard from his friend who used to go out with a girl who was a cousin of a Valve developer that Half-Life 3 would be released as a Steam exclusive this March? Or maybe you just crawled across a convincing website which seemed to point to another, long-awaited iteration in the Half-Life series? Well bad news, friends: "You are being trolled."
That's the word from Valve writer Chet Faliszek, who says on the Steam forums that "there is no ARG," and there are no official hints out there at all that a third Half-Life game is coming any time soon. We don't care how convincing that secret FTP that the guy on IRC told you about was: any Half-Life 3 rumors so far are completely unofficial, as great as that fan-made Portal short was.
Then again, it would be just like Valve to say that an official ARG wasn't official, wouldn't it? Maybe they're just trying to hide the real story by saying it too is a fake! Conspiracy!
Reader Comments (61)
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:34AM ChainSmoker said
Maybe its just them trolling the community trolling the community trolling the community.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:41AM (Unverified) said
@ChainSmoker Whenever anything denies anything else I always think "but that's just what they'd say if it was true!"
And then I stop caring :P I'll wait for HL2:ep3 or HL3. And enjoy it when I get it.
Reply
And then I stop caring :P I'll wait for HL2:ep3 or HL3. And enjoy it when I get it.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:54AM ShadowOp814 said
@ChainSmoker
A troll within a troll?
Trollception'd
Reply
A troll within a troll?
Trollception'd
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:40AM Foetoid said
I still gotta finish HL2 :( Had it sitting in my steam list for years but new games keep coming along.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:45AM wolf4537 said
GOD. DAMMIT.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:46AM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said
Once again my emotions are played with.
You toy with my heart, you toy with my soul, you toy with my wallet.
Damn you Valve!!!!!!
You toy with my heart, you toy with my soul, you toy with my wallet.
Damn you Valve!!!!!!
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:47AM Calatia said
I'm playing Half-Life 3 right now, on a secret server that runs a future build of Steam. It's true!
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 4:49AM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said
@Calatia
In the words of Rick James
"Cocaine is a hell of a drug"
Just say no buddy
Reply
In the words of Rick James
"Cocaine is a hell of a drug"
Just say no buddy
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:49AM wolf4537 said
You don't know how badly I want to scream right now at Valve. Why won't they just give the fans that have been waiting patiently for over 4 years now even a tiny glimpse of what they want?!?!
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 4:26AM Faceless Troll said
@wolf4537 Maybe they take pleasure from your suffering.
Reply
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 4:51AM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said
@Faceless Troll
My god Gabe Newell drinks the tears of his fans from the pain he inflicts.
Reply
My god Gabe Newell drinks the tears of his fans from the pain he inflicts.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 8:38AM jchan said
@wolf4537
I don't even care anymore that there is no HL3. What I care about is that Valve hasn't said an official peep about it in years. Just have some decency and tell us if it is ever going to happen.
I'm actually sort of starting to move out of the "OMG WHEN HL3" phase into hating Valve for toying with us. They've been trolling us all by not trolling for so long.
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I don't even care anymore that there is no HL3. What I care about is that Valve hasn't said an official peep about it in years. Just have some decency and tell us if it is ever going to happen.
I'm actually sort of starting to move out of the "OMG WHEN HL3" phase into hating Valve for toying with us. They've been trolling us all by not trolling for so long.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 3:55AM neoand12 said
My god. This is Turning into Duke Nukem Forever all over again.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 4:24AM singleandlovinit said
except we actually knew Duke Nukem was in development
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Posted: Dec 30th 2011 4:42AM Anarqi said
I better get HL3 before humankind demise in 2012 by zombies.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 10:17AM xHotPotatox said
@Anarqi
Oh lord another one of you crazy doomsday people. There won't be any zombies in 2012.....Its gonna be a monkey and/or machine uprising....honestly get your facts straight
Reply
Oh lord another one of you crazy doomsday people. There won't be any zombies in 2012.....Its gonna be a monkey and/or machine uprising....honestly get your facts straight
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 5:26AM ructus said
I still haven't played HL1, I think I'll play HL1 through EP2 when EP3 or HL3 arrives, by then my computer would be an everyday a quantum computer, and I'll be 92.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 6:00AM 1OhhOne said
I just play ep2 on mute and keep saying episode3 here and there,keeps me ticking over till it actually drops
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 6:19AM Nint3ndofr34k said
Everyone's a troll now -.-
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 6:38AM Undulation said
I've yet to play the HL games but I do have an interest in this topic.
If you don't believe HL3 or Episode 3 is being actively developed right this moment then you're a wrongbrain. Do you wrongbrains think things only exist once they're announced?
If you don't believe HL3 or Episode 3 is being actively developed right this moment then you're a wrongbrain. Do you wrongbrains think things only exist once they're announced?
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 9:42AM commonperson said
@Undulation I'm sure they are working on it but they suffer from the same thing that Blizzard and 3D Realms suffer from the "it'll be out when it's ready" I give Valve this much, unlike Blizzard and 3D Realms it's not a never ending hype train which causes resentment and burn out but it's this coy coquettish "we wont tell" which can get just as annoying.
They are working on ep. 3, they are probably even working on HL 3 but they are simply being too precious with the work and if they can't release in a timely fashion than it's just as bad as not releasing a good product (especially with the cliff hanger at the end of ep. 2 that's just mean.)
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They are working on ep. 3, they are probably even working on HL 3 but they are simply being too precious with the work and if they can't release in a timely fashion than it's just as bad as not releasing a good product (especially with the cliff hanger at the end of ep. 2 that's just mean.)
Posted: Jan 1st 2012 12:03PM Undulation said
@eat it
Wow voted down. You guys need to watch some real comedies once in a while.
Reply
Wow voted down. You guys need to watch some real comedies once in a while.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 9:14AM JonahStein said
"There is no ARG..."
Makes me think of The Matrix:
"There is no spoon."
So that means there totally is an ARG, but we just have to be more clever.
Instead of trying to bend the ARG to our will, we should be the ones bending. Yeah, so you know where this is going... Valve absolutely has us bent over and ready to take whatever they wanna give us.
Makes me think of The Matrix:
"There is no spoon."
So that means there totally is an ARG, but we just have to be more clever.
Instead of trying to bend the ARG to our will, we should be the ones bending. Yeah, so you know where this is going... Valve absolutely has us bent over and ready to take whatever they wanna give us.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 9:35AM Jenks said
Why spend the time crafting Half Life 3 when you can just crap out a bunch more L4D games. :(
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 9:39AM commonperson said
Honestly I'm done caring. I have played Half Life, HL2, Ep1 and Ep 2 but they were really in to the entire "eposodic" idea but in this day and age when there are so many quality games coming out on a regular basis if you let it stagnate you loose moemtum. I'm not saying "they suck" or "it's going to suck" just honestly I don't care any more.
If another half life game comes out great, that'll be excellent. But I'm not going to get my self worked in to a tizzy like some people because in all honesty there are a hundred other good games that come out all the time (and with the work that's going on in say Assasin's Creed with a long stroy spread over anual installments which is what they said they'd be doing with the episodes) it's obviously possible but I think it's just a case of Valve being too precious with their work and we saw where that got Duke Nukem.
If another half life game comes out great, that'll be excellent. But I'm not going to get my self worked in to a tizzy like some people because in all honesty there are a hundred other good games that come out all the time (and with the work that's going on in say Assasin's Creed with a long stroy spread over anual installments which is what they said they'd be doing with the episodes) it's obviously possible but I think it's just a case of Valve being too precious with their work and we saw where that got Duke Nukem.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 10:15AM xHotPotatox said
Well get a new IP before we get this game, even a LFD or Portal sequel for that matter. If I learned anything about Valve over the years, its that they can't count to 3
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 10:37AM Luciano said
So HL3 is the new Duke Nukem Forever, let's just hope this saga ends well...
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 10:44AM koolaroo said
My thoery is that they will reaslse episode 3 on the 5 year aniversry of the orange box along with tf3 and some other new game becase they will make portal 3 a stand alone realease.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 10:47AM dingoperson said
Sure.. that's why, and let me point it out:
I at the moment have received a 'Valve games 25% off' coupon that explicitly says, and I quote:
'VALID UNTIL 1ST OF MARCH 2012 FOR ALL VALVE GAMES EXCEPT FOR THOSE VALVE GAMES RELEASED AFTER 2ND OF JANUARY 2012.'
;)
I at the moment have received a 'Valve games 25% off' coupon that explicitly says, and I quote:
'VALID UNTIL 1ST OF MARCH 2012 FOR ALL VALVE GAMES EXCEPT FOR THOSE VALVE GAMES RELEASED AFTER 2ND OF JANUARY 2012.'
;)
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 11:10AM Undulation said
@dingoperson
No it says that for all games, not just Valve titles. There is no conspiracy there ffs.
Reply
No it says that for all games, not just Valve titles. There is no conspiracy there ffs.
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 11:03AM soniccar said
I hate the term "trolling" so freaking much. Honestly, I like Valve a little less for anybody there using it. Internet culture is dumb. I don't even remember what happened in the episodes except for putting a lawn gnome in a rocket. Is Traveler's Tales the only company in the world that gets the point of episodic games?
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 11:14AM Haizeus said
"OMG AT LEAST TELL US IT'S IN DEVELOPMENT OMFG!"
Are you guys really that dense? Seriously?
Are you guys really that dense? Seriously?
Posted: Dec 30th 2011 11:30AM Duke said
Just tell us something. We all want to see that the game exists, so don't screw with is. Just throw a bone.








