A brand new Half-Life game announcement may be happening at Gamescom 2023, based on the latest information.
The gaming fair Gamescom has a companion app that lets users view a list of exhibitors. Valve is listed among the exhibitorx, even though it is not officially confirmed to be at the event. A quick look at the exhibited brands at Gamescom 2023 shows mention of Half-Life.
It’s hard to say whether this was done in error. The only way to know for sure is when the event is live. If true, the Gamescom companion app may have potentially leaked a brand new Half-Life game announcement. Screenshots from the aforementioned app can be seen below.
The previous entry in the Half-Life series, Half-Life: Alyx, is a 2020 virtual reality (VR) first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. Compatible with Windows and Linux, the game supports a wide range of PC VR headsets. It takes place five years prior to the events of Half-Life 2 (2004) and follows the protagonist Alyx Vance as she embarks on a mission to seize a formidable alien Combine super-weapon. Staying true to the Half-Life franchise’s essence, Alyx incorporates elements of combat, puzzles, exploration, and survival horror. Players immerse themselves in the VR experience, interacting with the environment and battling enemies using “gravity gloves” that allow them to snatch objects from afar, similar to the iconic gravity gun from Half-Life 2.
Gabe Newell had mentioned during an earlier interview that Half-Life: Alyx had created momentum inside the company to work on more single-player games. “We definitely have games in development that we’re going to be announcing — it’s fun to ship games,” said Gabe Newell when pressed about their current project. “Alyx was great — to be back doing single-player games, that created a lot of momentum inside of the company to do more of that.”