Half-Life 3 Tipped As A Steam Machine Launch Title This Spring
If you've been following Valve-related news this year, you may have noticed that key sale dates had changed ahead of the Steam Hardware announcement. This shift in dates, plus leaked files led to increased speculation around the release of Half-Life 3, and the date shift did indeed coincide with the Steam hardware announcements. But as we've seen, only the Steam Hardware announcements came, without pricing or release dates. According to Mike Straw speaking to his insiders post-Game Awards, the initial announcements originally included a bombshell Half-Life 3 reveal.
While some reports indicate that Half-Life 3 is on the horizon, there DRAM prices remain in flux and will likely continue to increase for the foreseeable future. This puts Valve in an unfavorable position, where the Steam Machine's inevitable street prices are much higher than initially expected. Half-Life 3 would likely entice many consumers to take the plunge anyway, but the game should also be available for the PC as well. Based on how long it's been since any new rumors have leaked or Valve's made an official statement, it's likely that these conflicting priorities are the topic of many a debates at Valve's Bellevue, Washington HQ.
Hopefully, Valve will clear the air soon, but based on what we've heard so far, it's unlikely that Valve has finalized the release date for Steam Machine or Half-Life 3 at this point in time. Both are on the horizon, though, and they'll most likely ship side-by-side.
