Gabe Newell: "I get it' People Worrying About Not Having an End to a Series

"We understand it, and we think at the end of the day, customers are going to be really happy with where we have spent our time."

[equal_youth]

my brain is melting... again. HL3 confirmed?

[UltraNova]

No he hasn't confirmed it but I'm calling it right now Half life 3 with a Portal/gravity hybrid gun!

[turdburgler1080]

We may actually get it this time because they have a new source engine. Every time a half life game came out was when a new engine appeared.

[aCasualGamer]

I'm pretty certain they do have Half Life 3 ready, but it's going to be a steam box exclusive.

[Mr_cheese]

I can't help but feel that maybe they have remade all the half-lives for next gen and will release those and then a year later, hl3. Would be perfect marketing and I know I would enjoy going through them all again.

[kraenk12]

Just play the cinematic mod!

[kraenk12]

It's pretty much obvious. They are working on it for many years and had to wait for the next gen to arrive. Now the next thing is the Steam OS and I guess we will see something earliest on E3 and latest next year.

I hope we will get a VR version later.

[BG11579]

Did Gabe just confirmed Shenmue 3? ^^

[WitWolfy]

In other words... "we would've made HL3 YEARS ago if we didnt make bucket loads of money in Steam every moment that goes by."

[Gazondaily]

I think they are genuinely scratching their heads as to where to take Half Life 3.

I mean, the expectations for HL3 are near astronomical. The pressure on them must be debilitating.

valve and Newell have the impossible task of exceeding the expectations...for HALF LIFE 3! I mean, this is one of the best FPS' of all time.

I don't envy them. They are obviously talented but God knows how they are going to move the series forward in a way that pleases most fans.

[pivotplease]

It's like detox. If it ever happens it will probably be a let down. That's the thing about taking your time. The hype seems to continue to build in all the die-hard fans despite the product actually just being stuck in limbo and not progressing at all.

[Gazondaily]

Ha! It would be a crazy collaboration if Dr Dre and Newell teamed up.

"The hype seems to continue to build in all the die-hard fans despite the product actually just being stuck in limbo and not progressing at all."

Yeah this is exactly what happened to Duke Nukem Forever. What a letdown that was.

[UltraNova]

Septic

This is exactly why they should come out and tell us the truth, that they wont do the game because they feel unable to meet or exceed expectations. We gamers may be stubborn and self-entitled but we know and appreciate the truth when we see it.

Sony should follow suit if this is the case for the last Guardian, even if there were no prior games to that IP.

Finally we all saw how the Duke Nukem franchise ended up and frankly we don't need another beloved franchise tarnished.

EDIT: By the time I posted you mentioned Duke as well hahaha

[Monduu]

@UltraNova

Wrong, It's directly tied Of Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus universe...

[Thefreeman012]

The only people who are saying the pressure is too much are people like you..

[UltraNova]

@Monduu

I'd be happy to discuss this with you if you provide a link where the devs say it is.

Where did you come up with that idea? from the one trailer we got so many years ago? or because its your opinion that team ico is only capable of these types of games?

After all the issues they had- the development limbo, indefinite hiatus (cancellation ?), restructuring, generation leap, the head of production leaving the studio etc etc how can you be sure of anything at this point?

Look I want the LG to get released as much as the next guy but I wont stick my head in the sand and pretend this title does not have major problems and that its original vision wasnt dramatically altered to this point.

[BlackWolf12]

If they had released half life 2 episode 3 when they had originally planned to, then none of this half life 3 hype would have happened. And they would be free to take the series in whatever direction they wanted.

[Shuckylad]

I need half-life 3.

[frelyler]

Valve, no one cares about your headset, no one cares about your controller or your convoluted business plans regarding steam machines. You are where you are BC of half life. That is what people want, that's what I want and each time I heard valve has "news" I laugh and know it'll be another step away from what got them there in the first place. Look, I realize I sound entitled and with any othe company i would say take your time, but not with Valve. They Actually do owe their fans that game because they said we would get it. Its like a beer company made a batch of the most amazing beer ever and it made the company millions. Then they decide to stop making beer completely and start making underwear. Sure I can wear it while I drink beer, but the big boys have had it down for a while and I don't want t your underwear.

[Timesplitter14]

I wouldn't say that. I want HL3 as much as anyone else, but there's a certain kind of philanthropy in what Valve has been doing for PC gaming for the last decade. Something greater than just a game. They're pushing the entire industry forward, and in the right direction too.

Besides, I don't think they "owe" us anything. We are in no way entitled to their work.

[frelyler]

You have no idea what philanthropy is. That is when you do things for the greater good of man kind by giving your time and money to make the lives of everyone better. Valve is a very large and very wealthy company that stumbled onto a digital delivery platform. I can't even say anything else in response to your comment BC wow, just wow. I will say that if a company promises something, then trolls it's fans for 8 years without delivering, yeah they owe at least an answer. How is that? No game just definitive answers. We are owed that much

[Timesplitter14]

"a certain kind of philanthropy" in the sense that their platform has changed things quite a lot, and opened up opportunities for people who wouldn't have been able to publish games to a wide audience otherwise.

Try comparing Steam to similar platforms like Uplay or Origin. The difference is flagrant. On one side you have the savior and democratizer of gaming, and on the other, you have the quintessence of crap. Of course Steam exists for profit, but Valve cares about turning in into a win-win situation for everyone. Valve cares about openness, and making things easy for consumers.

I've always thought that the concept of "owing your fans" is ridiculous. It's like you are a fan not because you like what they're doing, but because you want to control their work and resources instead. I hate it when I hear people complaining about famous artists for example, saying "why don't they do what I wannnt?". I DUNNO, WHY WOULD THEY? You don't own them. Think about it this way: if you are angry at them, you're not even actually a fan anymore, so they don't owe you!

[awi5951]

@frelyler

They didnt stumble they created it. I hated steam when it first came out everyone wanted them to kill this business model they just took the heat and fixed what people didnt like and it worked. This was not a stumble they forced us kicking and screaming into this business model and the cheaper prices paid off for consumers and the business alike. Now they have done some stuff in the last few years that pissed me off. Like when europe ruled digital games can be resold and valve made a TOS update that if you didnt except you lost your steam account now that was shady as crap.

[frelyler]

I'm not angry in the least. I'm just tired of hearing news I couldn't care less about I guess. As a fan I am disappointed is all and they could handle it better and stop trolling, that's all I want. How about this, I love the Pats, have since Bledsoe. Anyways, Revis was a factor in why we won the Superbowl. He has moved on and I don't blame him, but I don't want to hear any news about him because I simply don't care. He no longer has any ties to the team I like most.

[traumadisaster]

I agree, they are revolutionary in the pc gaming business. Steam is a result of what drives Gabe, which is to putt the gamer and the industry in a better place.

Few have the will to do that, and less accomplish it. I have so much respect for his mission and vision.

[WellyUK]

Won't live up to expectations anyway... No matter how badly people want it.

[WESKER2015]

the sad thing is with steam being so successful valve dont need to make video games anymore, the only incentive for valve to make a new half life game would be to make the fans happy....and do they care if you are happy? Lol, i also want a new half life game but the more time goes by the the more i realize that half life 3 will never happen

[awi5951]

Well we need a new source engine as well.

[InTheLab]

More TF2 hats confirmed....

Remember when Valve made games? That was nice...

[BillytheBarbarian]

Valve is scared to tarnish it's reputation to crappy reviewers. When Half Life 2 came out the atmosphere of gaming was happier and more accepting of flaws. Now games get ripped a new asshole for minute details. I want Shenmue 3, KOTOR 3, Half life 3, etc...but I also would hate to see the series finale get raked over the coals like Duke Nukem Forever. True fans enjoyed the game while call of duty gamers hated or ignored it. I feel the same would happen with the games mentioned. Wanting the 3rd game is worth more to Valve because people will keep following their news feeds.

[JasonKCK]

I don't remember Half Life 2 having many flaws. Reviewers have been ripping on games technical flaws since the first game review. Why do some people think this is new thing?

[ps360s]

Because now it's gone to the EXTREME... lol

but would luv HL3

I can wait...trying to be patient... ><

[SilentNegotiator]

DNF got what it deserved as the mediocre game it was; the gameplay wasn't very good and it wasn't funny.

[whitesoxfalife1976]

Hell I'm still waitn on detox album from Dr Dre, point is if they decide to do it then do it if not shut th fuck up about it, although I'm not a fan of the series myself but I've over the years of them possibly bringing HL3 out even when Hl2 was posted to consoles back in what 09 or 08, still in that same time frame the Detox has not came out so fuck it stop hoping gamers stop hoping it aint gonna happen anytime soon

[FlyingFoxy]

Whatever they release on Source 2, as long as there's a new L4D, Portal and Half Life i will be happy. I'm upgrading my PC at just the right time, i did the same in 04 for HL2 and Doom 3. Can't wait to see new engine stuff.

[Drekken]

Half Life has ALWAYS come with a new Source Engine. To think it will never come is just silly.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

l4d3 pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Picnic]

Gabe Newell is like the George Lucas of videogames. Not much output but what there is tends to be visually good, has a grey beard, a kindly yet distant face and is possibly no stranger to the doughnut machine. Sometimes interested in creating new technology for use by themselves but also by other studios.

[traumadisaster]

They are the same person.

[Sketchy_Galore]

Half life 2 is my favourite game of all time but it's been too long. It makes me really sad to admit it but I no longer even care about Half life 3. It's been so long it wouldn't feel like an end to the story anyway, it would feel like some weird modern reboot of an old forgotten series.

I don't care about the pressures they must've felt to top the previous game. I don't care about the new technologies Valve has been working on, though I'm sure they're amazing. I don't care about the fact that the games they've made since Half life 2 are brilliant in their own right. I still have, and will always have a deep personal dislike of Gabe Newell for getting me so invested in that story then just leaving me hanging. To me that's worse than any price hiking or DLC milking or anything like that.

[traumadisaster]

Yea i think you have a very valid point. Love turns to animosity if the love is not returned over time.

[Enyxodin]

After reading this, its clear that Gabe refers to Half-life 3! This is the perfect time for half life with their new VR headset!
And if half life 3 indeed releases first on HTC vive it is probably going to push VR even more

[WitWolfy]

I dunno VR seems more like it was made for survival horror in mind.. Not action shooters.

[Enyxodin]

Just look at that portal vr demo...that worked fine! And also half life is considered pretty low paced if you compare it with other action shooters like call of duty and battlefield...so it will be a prefect hit if they do it right

[DevilishSix]

Is it me or does Gabe look like Santa Claus with the white beard? Not trying to be offensive its just the first thing I think of when I see pictures of him with the beard.

[Phoenix76]

Gabe Newell: "I get it' People Worrying About Not Having an End to a Series.......... Really?? Really Gabe, because I dont think you do get it!!!!

[thejigisup]

I'm sure he does now that pratchett passed away. Which is a shame in its own right. Valve should ride to meet the challenge of creating a game that has an incredible following and extreme demand, live up to the expectations and end the series.

[Claudinho69]

taking bets what will release first, detox, last guardian , HL3

[TheCommentator]

Valve doesn't like 3's for any game. Half-Life for one example did 1 and 2, then Episodes 1 and 2.

Let's try an experiment though:

Hold out your hand with your thumb holding down your pinky, leaving 3 fingers up. Of those fingers let's take away 2 fingers, the ring and index, which represent the two games of any series made so far. What you're left with is how Gabe treats his fans after they made him rich enough to waste his/our money on things like the "Cleaveland" Steambox, which is likely the only place you'll get to play anything with a 3 in it, until it fails like the steaming pile it is.

The guy is a jerk, which is also why he bashed PS3 for years for not being a game system until one day he danced out on stage like a lottery winner with a giant check in his pocket and said it was the best thing since sliced bread.

[Phoenix76]

That's true. That was the he announced that portal 2 would be coming to consoles and the ps³ version would have a code for a free PC copy of the game às well

[Bass_fisherman]

dammit newell!

[rick4691]

I don't care about HL3 as much anymore...I mean of course I'll play if it ever comes out, but I dunno... The magic of the series is a bit gone for me. It's been so long since HL2 ended and having no news whatsoever kind of killed it for me. Maybe I'm just getting old.

[ThePresentIsAgift]

And they said Father Christmas wasn't real, well I'll be damned if Gabe isn't the spitting image in that photo.

Maybe if we all wrote Half-life 3 on our Christmas wish lists it would come sooner haha.

[mochachino]

HL3 VR Exclusive.

So it looks like I'm upgrading the PC.

[thejigisup]

It is eerie that he mentioned not being able to finish discworld.... I wonder how many people will never experience half life 3 after waiting so long.

[jonrhoades87]

Gaben, just release the frickin' game already.