At this point, it’s pretty safe to say no new Half-Life games are coming. That really sucks, but it also means developers who worked on the series are starting to leak out documents showing the progress that was made before Valve decided to scrap it. The latest leak shows a potential map for Half-Life 2: Episode 3, where players would return to the dreaded town of Ravenholm.
For those who played Half-Life 2, Ravenholm is one of the more memorable moments from the game. The creepy town was infested with headcrabs and other monsters, and players had to make an uneasy alliance with a crazed priest wielding a shotgun.
According to leaked documents posted on ValveTime.net, Half-Life 2: Episode 3 was in development at Junction Point Studios. The episode would have brought players back to the creepy town, but this time during the snow-covered winter. According to ValveTime reporter Barnz, the maps imply that players would start the level by crashing into a warehouse in a gondola. Players would then wake up in a room with two new characters named Duncan and Scooter. Duncan is said to have been a generic Citizen NPC character model, while Scooter wasn’t specified to look like anything.
A train station and other buildings are also included on the map. Rebel fighters and Combine soldiers are also said to have been fighting on the streets, meaning you’d probably get involved at some point.
There are also references to a magnet gun, something that Warren Spector had previously mentioned. Spector had worked at Junction Point Studios, and mentioned the team did work on a Half-Life episode before entering into negotiations with Disney. The studio would eventually go on to make Epic Mickey.
Before going on to blame Disney for the lack of new Half-Life games, Spector also stated that he felt things were going in a different direction anyway. “I think Valve was rethinking their episodic plan anyway,” he told Game Informer back in 2015.
So that’s that. Half-Life 2: Episode 3: the awesome-sounding game that never was.
What do you think? Are you sad to see the new Half-Life game we never got? Do you think there will ever be a new Half-Life game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
