Half-Life Alyx launched today and is a great VR game and a great Half-Life game. And best of all, "Half-Life 3 has been decided!" The best thing would be to not have to make jokes about it. In an interview with IGN, level designer Dario Casali explained why a proper Half-Life sequel has not materialized after 13 years. He explained.

"Half-Life 2 took an unexpectedly long time to make, partly because it was developed in parallel with the Source engine we use. The main takeaway from that, he says, is that "you get a stable technology and then you make a game on top of it."

As a result, episodic releases were planned for Valve's years of silence: instead, episodes were to be released on a yearly basis because the Source engine was fully mature. Instead, episodes were planned to be released on a yearly basis because the Source engine was fully mature. However, "scope creep" occurred as developers continued to pack in more features. Casali said that this was a "good concept" but that Valve did not execute it very well.

Thirteen years after Episode 2, no sequel has been made for two main reasons: one, as Gabe Newell said in another interview with IGN, a reluctance to "just crank out Half-Life titles to help with the quarterly numbers" The other is the development of the Source 2 engine; Source 2 was officially announced in 2015, and Valve was itching for a new engine by the time Episode 2 was released, but did not want to repeat the "pain" of the Half-Life 2 development process Casali said. However, he did not want to repeat the "pain" of the Half-Life 2 development process.

The good news for long-suffering fans is that Valve has been working on various "Half-Life" projects over the years, Casali said, but just hasn't been satisfied. And while the VR-only Half-Life: Alyx is out of reach for the majority of PC gamers, we can expect more to come: Valve's Robin Walker said earlier this month that the studio sees Alyx as "a return to this world, not the end . Which probably means that the Half-Life 3 rumor, leak, and hoax list will be updated again soon.