Following the success of games like Hearthstone, developers realized there is no doubt money in card games. Yet, when Valve announced Artifact many were upset. As a matter of fact, the teaser on YouTube is sitting at about 76 thousand dislikes. Only about 6 thousand people decided to like the video. So, what’s wrong with a card game? Come on, did it really deserve that many dislikes?

Almost every Valve game turns to gold. Yet, as gamers, we’ve been restricted from almost every 3rd game in successful Valve franchises. Portal, Half-Life and Left 4 Dead have all been constrained to two-game-franchises. I believe many were upset by this announcement teaser because Valve was introducing a new IP without addressing their previous franchises’ fans. And although I think this move isn’t consumer friendly, apparently more is in store.

Gabe Newell, President of Valve has continuously supported the PC gaming community. He’s been focusing on establishing the most popular PC gaming marketplace and social infrastructure (Steam). I don’t think anyone would argue that Steam is a godsend. The ridiculous sales facilitated by the platform have become memes. In addition to this, he has also been focusing on hardware, viewing it as an investment for PC gamers. It’s not like “Gaben” hasn’t been busy.

Yet, Newell’s focus seems to be reverting. During a presentation about Artifact, Gabe Newell made some astounding reiterations regarding Valve’s future. He stated

“Artifact is the first of several games that are going to be coming from us. So that’s sort of good news. Hooray! Valve’s going to start shipping games again. “

For good reason, the internet went crazy. Previously, Newell discussed Valve’s involvement in “three big VR games.” Although some aren’t interested in VR, I do believe Valve would do it right. Valve perfected the first-person shooter with Half-Life. Valve made huge strides in the puzzle genre with Portal. In addition to this, DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: GO have become huge esports powerhouses. I think the developer could be capable of bringing VR to mainstream gamers.

With these new headlines. I thought it would be fun to get a little crazy with some expectations from Valve. A few of these are almost completely ridiculous, but it’s definitely fun to speculate. Without further ado, here are the big three games I’d like to see Valve release.

VR Portal

According to forums, many seem to think Half-Life 3 seems like a great VR title. I’m not sure VR has become technically proficient enough to support a fast-paced first-person shooter without making concessions. That’s why I believe we’d be better off receiving a NEW Portal game based solely around VR. The key word here is new. Portal and Portal 2 have already been experienced a billion times by almost everyone. Myself included. We don’t need a VR rendition of one or both of these games. We need a sequel to Portal 2.

Now I’m not a huge advocate for VR, but Portal would be the exception. The possibilities would be endless. A new Portal game would immediately become much more immersive and satisfying by the implementation of VR. For all intents and purposes, the franchise is slow-paced. Each game gives the player time to think and react to each puzzle. Currently, VR games shouldn’t have much urgency to them; as the technology hasn’t advanced enough to be a completely seamless experience. In the Portal franchise, the player is rewarded for experimentation and exploration. Can you imagine how great that would be in VR?

While I’d be all for this, I don’t think Valve should restrict players. Although much more developing power is required; they should do what Capcom did with Resident Evil: 7. Let the player choose between VR or standard mode. No gamer should be forced to purchase a peripheral in order to play a game from a franchise so adored by fans.

New Valve IP

I have a wild theory with absolutely no merit.

Now, what if Valve created a battle royale game? Hear me out. The genre has been getting a lot of popularity in the past year or so. The developer has to be catching onto how successful it has been. Valve has been responsible for creating a game for almost every genre. Think about Valve’s portfolio: a story-heavy first-person shooter (Half-Life), a puzzle game (Portal), a zombie survival first-person shooter, a highly-competitive skill-based first-person shooter (Counter-Strike: GO), a MOBA (Dota). And most recently, a card game (Artifact).

The company seems to be adaptive to what consumers are playing. This seems like the next logical step for them during this current climate. With their competitive gaming expertise, imagine how great this battle royale could be?

Half-Life

This is completely necessary from such an announcement. After Newell making such an announcement, fans will feel another pang of sadness if they don’t get Half-Life 3. I mean, right? It’s got to happen one of these days, right?

The very first first-person shooter I had ever played was in the form of Half-Life. It was extremely fun, explorative and ambitious. With today’s technological infrastructure, great things could happen with a new installment. Seriously, give us a new Half-Life. At this point, I don’t even care if it’s VR.

Honestly, I’m a huge Valve fan. So, I think whatever they do will at the very least be fun. It’s a joy to speculate what I want to happen, but ultimately, they’re going to do what they want regardless of fan’s opinions. I just hope they can continue to pull it off; even after such a long absence of new games.

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