10 Video Games Stuck In Development Hell

3. Half Life 3

Where art thou, Half Life 3? Now this may be a controversial choice as there hasn€™t been any concrete information regarding its existence but one must assume that due to the franchise-shifting predecessor Half Life 2, the presence of a sequel can only be inevitable particularly due to the astronomical success of the first two iterations as well as the subsequent acclaim the passing of time has afforded the series. If this recent news is to be believed, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell is seemingly pointing the finger at gamers taste for the now 10-year delay for one of the most anticipated games to date. While some may find this a little ignorant and possibly shifting blame away from the developers, Newell does have a point. Since the release of Half Life 2 the way we communicate via gaming has evolved and grown exponentially to the point where multiplayer gaming is the reference point. This is now the natural way to create a game as developers know this is where the gamers will go and thus that's where the money is. However, I do feel that this perspective of Newell€™s may be a broad generalisation of the gaming market right now. Millions are desperately waiting for Half Life 3 to be released and that's surely the greatest motivation to create the game regardless of what others are doing. The series has a solid fanbase ready and waiting something that may be taken for granted. While his analysis of the €œmultiplayer focused€ gaming market is certainly correct it may not accurately explain the reasoning behind why Half Life 3 still isn€™t with us. Logic dictates that development of the game should have at the very latest started after the release of Half Life: Episode 2, released way back on 2007. Now admittedly Valve have had incredible success with the Portal and Left for Dead series since then as well as the planned release of a 3rd episode to the Half Life series, but now it seems the timing is naturally placed for Half Life 3 to see the light. Will it? That€™s still a question that has been heavily debated and one that's turning anticipation into frustration. Here€™s hoping we€™ll hear something soon.