Last year, when Half-Life 3 rumors were heating up and everyone was convinced that the game would be announced any minute, Geoff Keighley posted an image on his Steam account with a the game on the wish list. The fact that it was Steam, along with reports from various reputable leakers that the game could be announced at any moment, had everyone convinced that it was Half-Life 3. It wasn't.
There was a lot like this. Keighley later posted a picture of a structure that looked vaguely like the Citadel in Half-Life 2, so fans hyped themselves up and thought it was yet again proof that Gabe Newell would stroll off his yacht and onto the stage to pull back the curtain and finally, after 20 long years, stop counting to three. It was a Fortnite event.
Now, ahead of Summer Game Fest, Keighley has posted another cryptic clue: a GIF of some steam. The line of thought running through fans' heads is that 'steam' is a clue to Valve, thus it's a clue to Half-Life 3. It's an incredibly thin theory, and considering the last two times everyone went into hibernation thinking Valve would turn up at a big Keighley event to finally announce that you're starting to drink the game. Don't do it, it will make you forget.
It is probably, almost absolutely nothing
I won't even try to guess what this GIF teases. Some think it's Steam Machine, others think it's Rockstar 'blowing the lid off' GTA 6, but it could just as well be a brand new game from a newcomer developer. What we can say is that insiders have repeated time and time again that Valve is unlikely to announce anything at a major event. Half-Life: Alyx, for example, was revealed in a random tweet. You're better off enabling push notifications for Valve than betting on the new round of E3 showcases.
Still, that doesn't mean Half-Life 3 is dead in the water. Dataminers continue to find evidence of its development, and it appears to be in the optimization and polishing phase, but when exactly it will be announced is anyone's guess. At least Valve hasn't killed it like with other iterations of Half-Life 3 over the years, which is a positive sign, especially after the team's post-Alyx openness about how they're no longer afraid to explore the series, and want to push forward with new games.
- Released
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November 16, 2004
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Engine
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source, havok
