Half-Life: Episode 3 remains one of the great “what if” stories in gaming history. Originally planned as a sequel to episodes 1 and 2, its cancellation instead left the series dangling on a cliffhanger that was never directly resolved.
Now, in celebration of Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary, Valve has opened up about its development in a brand new documentary featuring never-before-seen work-in-progress footage, a brand new Ice Gun, and a raft of new concept art. You can see the gameplay segment from the documentary in the video below.
According to the details shown in the video, episode 3 would have been set in the Arctic, and would have focused on Alyx as a companion character. Aside from the Ice Gun, the footage shows a blob-like enemy that can be split into multiple parts. According to the documentary, the team had completed a “collection of playable levels in any order” and expected to release the game within a year or two.
In addition to the new gameplay footage, writer Marc Laidlaw, founder Gabe Newell, and others also talk candidly about why the game was never released, ultimately attributing it to a lack of compelling new ideas and other reasons. At one point Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?”
The reason for Episode 3’s cancellation has been the subject of much debate over the years, not least because Episode 2 ended on a grim cliffhanger. In an interview with IGN shortly before Alyx’s release, Valve level designer Dario Casali described it partly as a matter of scope. Laidlaw would later reveal the plot in a story called “Epistle 3”, starring “Gertie Freemont” and “Alex Vaunt” – starring Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.
There is a lot of regret about the decision not to go through Episode 3. At one point Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?” Others talk about how, in retrospect, Episode 3 probably could have been released. Newell says, “We could have shipped it. It wouldn’t have been that hard. My personal failure got in the way. I couldn’t figure out why Episode 3 would move anything forward.”
Valve eventually released Half-Life Alyx in 2020, taking the story in a new direction, but many fans remain wistful for Half-Life: Episode 3 (not to mention the long-lost Half-Life 3). Now, twenty years after its release, Valve is celebrating Half-Life 2 amid unconfirmed rumors that a new game is in the works. In the meantime, it’s worth watching the entire documentary, which delves deep into Half-Life 2’s fraught development.
Image source: Half-Life 2 Documentary / Valve
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.