Changes at Valve; VR Abandoned, Half-Life 3 Possible, Steam Deck First
Well-informed youtuber Tyler McVicker has reported on what's happening at Valve. The company is said to be moving away from VR, a small group of developers are trying to start work on Half-Life 3, and Project Citadel has turned into a demonstration of Steam Deck's capabilities.
- Most employees were supposed to lose interest in VR because Facebook entrenched itself too much in this category, and Half-Life: Alyx couldn't reverse the trend;
- A new VR game set in the Half-Life universe is still in prototype phase but could be scrapped soon;
- Wireless VR goggles are in development, but the earliest they'll be released is a few years from now, and the project may well be abandoned;
- A large group of developers is working on Project Citadel - the game lost the VR elements and became a demonstration of Steam Deck's capabilities;
- A team of several people is trying to start development on Half-Life 3, but it's hard to judge if anything will come out of it.
Youtuber Tyler McVicker (formerly of Valve News Network) is one of the best-informed people about what's going on in Gabe Newell's company, so we welcome any of his materials devoted to the company with great interest. The latest one brings a lot of interesting information about the new projects of this developer.
First of all, Valve was said to have largely lost interest in VR technology. Employees supposedly think they've been overtaken by Facebook, which has bought up most of the top virtual reality development teams and dominated the market in terms of hardware with the cheap Oculus Quest 2.
The move away from VR has led to big changes in the studio's projects in development. Project Citadel - a cooperative hybrid shooter and RTS set in the Half-Life universe - supposedly lost its VR component. Currently, it is supposed to be primarily a demonstration of the capabilities of Steam Deck. A large team is allegedly working on the title and it is not in danger of being canceled. The official announcement will supposedly take place within the next two years.
In addition, a small group of developers may be working on Half-Life 3. If you're reading other websites, you may have seen that this information was taken as confirmation of the game's existence, but the reality is a little different. Tyler McVicker has modified his original video to clear up the misunderstanding. A team of several people is trying to restart the development of HL3, but it's unclear if anything will come of it. Valve has attempted to develop a sequel several times before and failed miserably.
All this does not mean that Valve has completely abandoned VR. There are supposed to be next-gen wireless goggles in development, but they will come out in a few years at the earliest, if the work on this device is completed at all.Most employees are said to have lost interest in VR, and of those who still want to be involved in it, some have already moved on to other companies. Tyler McVicker estimates that currently the project has a 50% chance of survival.
Also in development is a new VR game set in the Half-Life universe, but this project is currently in the prototype phase and no one is working on its narrative aspects. According to McVicker, there are indications suggesting that it will be abandoned as not promising well for the future. This is because it has a small team, and most of the people responsible for Half-Life: Alyx are currently working on Steam Deck-related stuff.
The situation should clarify in the near future. Most employees at Valve have now a month-long holiday break. During this period they can recuperate creatively to present their new ideas to the rest of the company when they return. Many titles have been abandoned after such holidays, and this time it may be the same.
