It's been over 20 years since Valve first released the original follow-up to Half-Life 2, the standalone Episode One expansion pack, and this is arguably where the company's curse of thirds first sprung up. All Half-Life fans know that Valve never did release the third and final Episode in the end, which means this incredible story simply hasn't been provided with a proper conclusion.
Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek gives his thoughts on the job of writing Half-Life 3.
The really shocking bit about Half-Life and its subsequent releases, and Half-Life 2's Episodes in particular, is that they were genuinely excellent games. Valve stacked hardware and OS wins over the past few years with relatively few actual games coming out. Even when they did, they were in the vein of Deadlock: a MOBA-style multiplayer experience with a potential gambling component. This is a far cry from the bespoke single-player experiences that made Valve such a huge success, and the lack of at least a Half-Life 2: Episode 3, if not a full-featured Half-Life 3, is sorely felt.
Half-Life 2 has sold over 4 million copies worldwide, and earned...
