Half-Life: Alyx launched 5 years in the past.
Thought of by many to be the most effective VR sport ever made, Alyx arrived slightly below 9 months after Index as the primary of the three “full” Valve VR video games the corporate had teased earlier than the headset’s launch.
The issue, after all, is that the opposite two video games by no means arrived, with Valve confirming upon Alyx’s launch that they weren’t even in improvement. Within the nearly six years since launching the $1000 Index, Valve has launched only one sport and commissioned two 15-minute demos, Aperture Hand Lab and Moondust.
Valve: “At The Second, There Aren’t Three Different VR Titles In Growth”
Again in February 2017, Valve’s Gabe Newell revealed that the corporate was engaged on three ‘full’ VR video games. Over three years on, and we lastly have a type of video games in Half-Life: Alyx, out at present (assessment right here!). Are there nonetheless two different new Valve VR video games on the best way?
No different gaming platform holder would get away with this. Think about the response, and the headlines, had Nintendo completed this with Swap, or Sony with PlayStation 5. However for some motive Valve is given a free cross.
The truth is, paradoxically, it is Meta that’s continually accused of abandoning, or being on the verge of abandoning, VR gaming. Yearly with out fail, our trade comes up with rumors and theories about how Meta will pull out of gaming any second now. But since Alyx launched, Meta has delivered Medal of Honor: Above and Past, Lone Echo 2, Resident Evil 4 VR, Murderer’s Creed Nexus, Asgard’s Wrath 2, and Batman: Arkham Shadow – basically a blockbuster VR title yearly, not less than. It has additionally funded a whole bunch of smaller builders, whereas we have seen no indication of Valve doing the identical.
Meta: “We’re Nonetheless Investing Massively In VR Gaming And Don’t Plan To Cease”
Meta says it funded over 100 VR & blended actuality titles that shipped in 2024, in addition to over 200 at present in “energetic manufacturing”.
I convey up Valve’s lack of dedication to VR as a result of in my opinion, it is one of many few corporations that really understands the medium, and thus its absence is sorely felt.
Half-Life: Alyx is not a flatscreen sport shoehorned into VR, as so many different VR titles sadly nonetheless are. It is an instance of content material constituted of the bottom up for digital actuality. Regardless of its narrative scale, Alyx focuses on polished and compelling hand interactions, would not get slowed down by janky IK arms, and prioritizes a pointy presentation with high-resolution textures and prime quality supplies over flashy dynamic lighting.
In our timeline, SteamVR has grown over the previous six years, however at a glacial tempo. Can we think about a timeline the place Valve leveraged its different IPs like Counter-Strike, Portal, Left 4 Lifeless, Group Fortress, and Dota to launch a blockbuster SteamVR title yearly, and even each few years? Is it actually an excessive amount of to ask that the one firm to make critical revenue from PC VR invests in its future?
“However that is simply not Valve’s type!” you could argue. And you could be proper. However in that case Valve may fund different builders to construct nice SteamVR content material. Somewhat than fee Cloudhead Video games to make a 15-minute Portal-themed demo, why not a 15-hour Portal-themed sport?
“However Valve simply would not wish to artificially inflate the market!”, you could additional retort. However in that case, why launch Alyx within the first place, and why tease the opposite two “full” Valve VR video games?
“However Valve is a a lot smaller firm than Meta!”, you could proceed. And whereas it is true that Valve is not Meta scale, it is not as small because it’s generally depicted. Valve is estimated to usher in $10 billion income every year, and Gabe Newell reportedly owns an “armada” of luxurious superyachts. Valve hasn’t been an indie darling for many years now. It might afford to put money into VR.
Half-Life: Alyx Overview – Supremely Polished, Surprisingly Acquainted, Sometimes Awkward And Unshakably Important VR
Second possibilities. Not everybody will get one. And but, in Half-Life: Alyx, Valve finds itself with a humiliation of them. Overlook all that ‘again from the useless’ stuff for a minute; you don’t want me to let you know Half-Life has been away for a really very long time. Extra urgent is
How Newell spends his cash is in the end as much as him. But when we will name for better funding in VR gaming from platform holders, Valve must be on the prime of our checklist. I say this as a result of I like Half-Life: Alyx, and I consider our trade would significantly profit from seeing extra from the geniuses behind it.
