Valve says Half-Life: Alyx is 'not the end' of its return to the series

Half-Life: Alyx art — (Image credit: Valve)

16 years after Half-Life 2, we still don't have Half-Life 3, but very soon we will have Half-Life: Alyx, a prequel to HL2 that will be out in a couple of weeks. As nice as it will be to finally have some new Half-Life to play with, the one knock against Alyx is that it's VR exclusive, so if you're a long-suffering Half-Life fan lacking the appropriate hardware, your suffering will continue.

But perhaps not for long, or at least not forever. In an interview with Game Informer, Valve's Robin Walker said that the series "means a lot to us," and that reconnecting with it through the development of Alyx has been "incredibly rewarding."

"There are Half-Life: Alyx team members who have been at Valve since Half-Life 2, and quite a few who go back to the original Half-Life," Walker said. "There are also people on the team for whom Half-Life: Alyx is their first time working on this series at all—and many of them certainly hope it's not the last. We absolutely see Half-Life: Alyx as our return to this world, not the end of it."

And for those who are kitted out for Half-Life: Alyx, Walker said that it will be a full-on Half-Life game, and even though it's a prequel it will tell an important part of the story.

"Half-Life: Alyx is a full-fledged entry in the Half-Life series, both in terms of the sheer amount of content as well as the importance and substance of its narrative relative to the rest of the series," he said. "It's a critical part of the larger story, and it does push that story forward."

Half-Life: Alyx comes out on March 23. Valve announced today that it expects the Index VR headset, which has been unavailable world-wide since mid-January, will be back in stock on Monday, but warned prospective buyers that it's expected to sell out the same day. Fortunately, Alyx will also work on other VR headsets: We've got a rundown of all your best options right here.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.