“My personal failure was to stay stuck,” admitted Gabe Newell. The Valve co-founder recently shared insights about the unfinished FPS in a new documentary, along with unseen images of what Episode 3 could have been.

For 20 years, the gaming community has waited in vain for the conclusion of one of the greatest video game stories ever told. Valve’s sci-fi shooter, Half-Life 2, once had plans for the infamous Episode 3 to follow its predecessor. However, Gabe Newell’s team ultimately shelved the project, redirecting their focus to another title that would go on to captivate players worldwide. Now, two decades later, we finally get a glimpse into the minds of developers who once sought to close out this monumental chapter.

Valve released an expansive documentary on YouTube celebrating Half-Life 2‘s 20th anniversary. In it, Valve founder Gabe Newell and other team members discuss the cancelled Episode 3. Developers felt the game wasn’t pushing boundaries, with a level designer noting that they needed to “push the envelope or do something different.” Development was paused for work on Left 4 Dead, and when the team returned, it became clear Episode 3 wouldn’t be completed.

The consensus among the team was that innovation was necessary to advance the series. After completing Left 4 Dead, they revisited Episode 3, only to cancel it shortly thereafter—though some developers believed it could have been finished. “I think we were six months into it when we moved on to Left 4 Dead. After it was released, we weren’t sure what to do next. We definitely could have gone back and spent two years doing Episode 3,” said engineer David Speyrer. Gabe Newell disagreed: “You can’t just be lazy and say, ‘Oh, we’re moving the story forward.’ That’s dereliction of your obligation to your players.”

“Sure, they love the story, but saying your reason for doing it is because people want to know what happens next… we could have just released it. It wouldn’t have been that hard. The failure, my personal failure, was getting stuck. I couldn’t find a reason for making Episode 3 to mean moving anything forward,” Newell explained (via PC Gamer). The lack of innovation was pivotal, though Valve had concepts fans would have cherished. The documentary reveals Episode 3 footage, new concept art, and ideas such as an ice gun capable of creating transparent barriers and icy ramps.

Source: 3djuegos