What's up with Valve's aversion to 3rd entries?

I just beat Portal 2 yesterday. (Lttp I know.) Loved it. Brilliant. Great writing and made me fall even more in love with GLaDOS as a character. Well, I already want a 3rd one, but...I'm guessing that's not gonna happen. I mean, we would have already heard stuff about it by now right?

Then there's Half Life 3, which, what, has got to be like the king of vaporware games? At this point I feel like it surpasses FFXV, Duke Nukem Forever, and TLG in notoriety...

So, wtf's going on with Valve? Have they just decided to pull a Konami/SE/Capcom/(insert beloved Japanese company of yore) and just barely make anticipated sequels anymore?
 
I just beat Portal 2 yesterday. (Lttp I know.) Loved it. Brilliant. Great writing and made me fall even more in love with GLaDOS as a character. Well, I already want a 3rd one, but...I'm guessing that's not gonna happen. I mean, we would have already heard stuff about it by now right?

Then there's Half Life 3, which, what has got to be like the king of vaporware games? At this point I feel like it surpasses FFXV, Duke Nukem Forever, and TLG in notoriety...

So, wtf's going on with Valve? Have they just decided to pull a Konami/SE/Capcom/(insert beloved Japanese company of yore) and just barely make anticipated sequels anymore?
Steam, Dota, CS:GO, TF2 all print infinite money so they are trying to keep those things running smoothly as they transition to Source 2.
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L4D3 should be coming at least.
 
Valve's game output has been sporadic and slightly anemic for a while. The 3 thing is a coincidence, most likely. Here's hoping they announce something soon to go with their shiny new engine.
 
Trilogies make sense for movies and books because three-act narrative structures are naturally the most compelling, but if the focus of your game is the mechanics/technology/design then it only makes sense to make one sequel, to make all the mechanical improvements for all the things that didn't work out in the first game, or to respond to consumer feedback.

At least, that's one reason why one sequel makes more sense than trilogies. Doesn't stop anyone from releasing new games in franchises every year, but maybe the people at valve would rather wait on a sequel until they have a really good reason to make one.
 
This year or next will be the year of the 3. L4D3, Portal 3, HL3, all running on Source 2. Valve needs a vehicle to carry Source 2 and I think those games and possibly a new game.
 
As far as I can tell:

TF2's long-lived support rendered a possible TF3 irrelevant.
Their online games and steam itself make so much money that the service model is now their business focus.
L4D and portal started recently enough in their history that they didn't have time to get more than two entries out before the focus changed.
HL's entries took long enough to develop for conventional game-delaying reasons that the series was still around for said focus-change and therefore also got delayed.
The episodes instead of a sequel: good intentions for episodic development ruined by delays.
 
Valve has essentially and somewhat successfully transitioned into a curator for their games when a lot is user generated .... Thinking of them as a regular game company is pointless now .

The question is if you can make millions off cosmetics why make and take all the risks with a new game ? There a service platform now ...


Btw it's funny to me how everyone loves valve now and hated it when steam was introduced .... Steam is essentially a subscription outlet just what ms was trying to do with x1 . Just done better
 
Its pretty hard to go free 2 play and shove micro transactions into the third entry of something.


Well thats probably not going to stop them with Left 4 Dead 3 but its the only thing they got they can do that with.
 
Btw it's funny to me how everyone loves valve now and hated it when steam was introduced .... Steam is essentially a subscription outlet just what ms was trying to do with x1 . Just done better

I like that you bring this up. I've actually never been keen on Steam. It always felt like an unnecessary gated digital-vault to me. A vault that, when it comes down to it, is not in my control, but for games that I "buy."

But, I guess that's a whole 'nother thread...
 
Regardless, it still sucks that we'll never see an HL3 or any other new story based series from Valve in the near future.
 
I don't think they're averse to third entries, but rather this is a byproduct of their business model.

Half-Life: They started out as a studio making singleplayer games, so making a sequel to this was straight forward. However, that game took so long they decided to overhaul the company into smaller releases. In 2015, a ton of people are required to make a AAA singleplayer game, and they seem to only want to work on games as a service, which doesn't fit very well with singleplayer gaming.

Counter-Strike: The follow-ups to this are mostly polishing up and adding to the same base game, but technically there's been 3 or 4 entries depending on how you want to count. They're probably not going to replace CS:GO anytime soon though since it's a service platform now.

Dota 2: This is only a 2 because they didn't have the original game, and it's a service platform now. It's a pretty new platform as well so it's not due for a replacement or refresh anytime soon.

Portal: They made a small experimental game with a team they hired when they liked their prototype. They then made a sequel to it because they had a variety of ideas for a full game. However, after that, they became notably more committed to games as a service, and the service component of Portal 2 didn't really work out, which probably helped get them the rest of the way off the singleplayer game path.

Left 4 Dead: They're making a third game as their primary game project. Maybe it won't be called Left 4 Dead 3, but it will unambiguously be the third game. It could plausibly be an f2p game, and it will almost assuredly be a long lasting service. Or, to put that in other terms, I'm not sure if there will be a Left 4 Dead 4 versus just updating Left 4 Dead 3 for a lot longer than they did Left 4 Dead 2, this time tying in ongoing monetization mechanics to make that more plausible.

Team Fortress: This was also a semi-experimental game that followed up on a game from ten years prior and was turned into an f2p service platform. It's possible they'll actually make a Team Fortress 3 as Team Fortress 2 is getting a bit long in the tooth even for a service platform and it's not getting a lot of updates anymore. Ten years for a service game is also about right in terms of how long you might wait before refreshing with a full technology overhaul, so we'd probably see it around 2017 if they intend to do a refresh. Either way, the reason we haven't seen a sequel yet is pretty straightforward.

I don't think they have any other franchises they'd actually consider continuing with. They seem totally uninterested in Day of Defeat, Alien Swarm was released because they hired the staff from the mod and didn't want their mostly completed work to go to waste, and obviously things like Richochet aren't even up for discussion.
 
they seem to be focused on Vive and Steam too much to care about developing piddly little "video games"

in other words they don't care about making millions or 10s of millions or even 100s of millions of dollars. they're thinking more along the lines of billions of dollars. making half life 3 won't get them there, so they're not interested in that.
 
Games as a service last a long, long time; Final Fantasy XI has been going for fourteen years now, and is only just starting to wrap things up. Valve places more emphasis on customer retention and building a strong pool of long-term gamers and developers who use their services. They haven't made a third entry in their flagship franchises because it's not their focus right now, and they simply haven't needed to.
 
Team Fortress: This was also a semi-experimental game that followed up on a game from ten years prior and was turned into an f2p service platform. It's possible they'll actually make a Team Fortress 3 as Team Fortress 2 is getting a bit long in the tooth even for a service platform and it's not getting a lot of updates anymore. Ten years for a service game is also about right in terms of how long you might wait before refreshing with a full technology overhaul, so we'd probably see it around 2017 if they intend to do a refresh. Either way, the reason we haven't seen a sequel yet is pretty straightforward.

But we have signs of competitive MM maybe being a thing, isn't that something that should be for the refresh then? I mean, I'm expecting that to potentially cause a spike in the player numbers. What about the people who are financially tied to the game? Won't a sequel just divide the community? If a sequel happens, are they keeping the style or do something entirely different? Right now I'm just having a hard time imagining a sequel.

Good summary btw.
 
I think it's an open secret by now that at least Left 4 Dead 3 is in development, judging from all the leaks, Source 2 is confirmed.

They might be holding back revealing any big titles until they officially release Vive and have L4D3 or any other Source 2 game as a flagship title to showcase the tech. Releasing L4D3 or HL3 now before Vive is released would be a marketing mistake.

they seem to be focused on Vive and Steam too much to care about developing piddly little "video games"

in other words they don't care about making millions or 10s of millions or even 100s of millions of dollars. they're thinking more along the lines of billions of dollars. making half life 3 won't get them there, so they're not interested in that.

Like I said, I think they're holding out until Vive is officially released, in the end software drives hardware sales, making L4D3 and HL3 VR exclusive to Vive would give them the edge over their competitors, like the Rift.
 
A little more than five months from now, Episode Three/Half-Life 3 is going to surpass TF2 as Valve's longest-gestating project.
 
But we have signs of competitive MM maybe being a thing, isn't that something that should be for the refresh then? I mean, I'm expecting that to potentially cause a spike in the player numbers. What about the people who are financially tied to the game? Won't a sequel just divide the community? If a sequel happens, are they keeping the style or do something entirely different? Right now I'm just having a hard time imagining a sequel.

Good summary btw.

Actually some top TF2 competitive players just announced a few minutes ago that they visited Valve recently and they confirmed TF2 is getting competitive match making, along with an in game comp stream list like CSGO has.
 
I hate all this work based on "needs". Valve needs more free-spirited arteests who don't care what the "man" or what "society" wants, because making games is an art, and not finishing the Half Life franchise is like not finishing the Mona Lisa.
 
I just need Left 4 Dead 3. At least there were some rumors of it being in development, but those are over a year old already.

Never really cared that much for Half Life, to be honest.
 
Portal doesn't need a third, in fact I would prefer it never to happen.

The Left for Dead and Half life though could do with more, too bad nobody has a single clue why Valve stalls at third entries.
 
I just need Left 4 Dead 3. At least there were some rumors of it being in development, but those are over a year old already.

Never really cared that much for Half Life, to be honest.

What would l4d be now from them though? A f2p microtransaction online only shooter?
 
why do you say that?

Half Life 1
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 Episode 1
Half Life 2 Episode 2
Half Life 2 Episode 2 extesion 1
Half Life 2 Episode 2 extesion 2
...
 
why do you say that?

Half Life 1
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 Episode 1
Half Life 2 Episode 2
Half Life 2 Episode 2 extesion 1
Half Life 2 Episode 2 extesion 2
...

More like
Half Life 2, 2
Half Life 2, 2 Episode 1
Half Life 2, 2 Episode 2
 
Why make a new game when you have existing games that pretty much run themselves, players making content for you, and a constant supply of money?

It's much less effort and probably more lucrative.
 
Oh boy, this thread again.

Valve just does Valve. I don't see why so much is expected of them, their games are good, but they are a company with assets in a lot of places. Right now they're trying to launch a home console. (Hahahaha)

Priorities, dawg.
 
Because they see games like Assassin's Creed 3, Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3, Diablo 3 etc. and decide to just dodge that bullet all-together.
 
Trilogies make sense for movies and books because three-act narrative structures are naturally the most compelling, but if the focus of your game is the mechanics/technology/design then it only makes sense to make one sequel, to make all the mechanical improvements for all the things that didn't work out in the first game, or to respond to consumer feedback.

At least, that's one reason why one sequel makes more sense than trilogies. Doesn't stop anyone from releasing new games in franchises every year, but maybe the people at valve would rather wait on a sequel until they have a really good reason to make one.

Wow, great answer.
 
Because Valve like to make the best they can and the 3rd game in a series is hard to get right. The second sequel is easier as it's usually just a case of bigger and better or providing more of the same with better mechanics. Innovating on that for a 3rd time doesn't always go so well as evident from many 3rd entries to a series. I imagine what they envision for a 3rd installment for their games isn't up to their standards yet
 
i heard they are going to release a game called "3", and it's gonna have everything. yep you guessed it, there will be a portal gun and some zombies and the conclusion to Freeman's story if you can find the correct sidequest.
 
Basically their aversion to anything with a limited revenue stream. They have no interest in selling anything self-contained, and sadly I have very little interest in anything they do these days.
 
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