Valve Has Been Experimenting With 'Half-Life' For Vive VR Programme

PC gaming veterans know how it is virtually impossible to get Valve to make any statement about its long awaited, but never spoken about instalment to the "Half-Life" franchise. However, the planets seem to be in perfect alignment because the company has finally broken its silence on Half-Life. Just don't treat this as a confirmation for "Half-Life 3," because the company has merely chipped in to clear the recent rumours regarding a virtual reality version of the game.

Valve, which is known for its Steam digital videogame distribution platform, has stated that it ideally would prefer making VR-augmented versions of all its games. This includes "Half-Life," according to a VG247 report. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it intends to commit the time and effort towards acting upon those desires. Valve programmer Jeep Barnett spoke about the extent of Valve's tinkering with "Half-Life" while working on its SteamVR programme.

The company has recently announced its own VR headset Vive, which is being developed in collaboration with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. Gamespot reports that Barnett revealed how Valve has been using assets from "Half-Life" while testing its Vive virtual reality headset prototypes. This had sparked rumours about the game coming to the newly announced VR platform.

The Valve spokesman stepped in to dispel the rumours and provide a typically noncommittal clarification about the series future. This doesn't come as a surprise considering Valve's track record regarding the franchise.

"We're not saying, 'no,'" Barnett said while addressing rumours about a VR version of "Half-Life" in an interview with Kotaku. "But we don't know what the right thing is [yet]."

Barnett explains that the company's ability to create what fans expect is limited by the time and resources it can commit to the project. Realistically, the spokesman stated that the company has to find what fits the VR experience best and then commit the limited resources towards creating a VR experience that plays to its strengths.

However, "Half-Life" isn't the only game that Valve has toyed around with while working on the Vive VR headset. Other popular Valve games such as the co-op zombie shooter "Left 4 Dead" and the wildly popular MOBA "DOTA 2" were also being experimented upon for integration with the company's on-going VR project.

The "Half-Life" rumours began when HTC Chairman Cher Wang inadvertently set off rumours about a VR of "Half-Life 3," while unveiling the Vive VR headset to the press. Wang had later issued an apology for causing the confusion. Valve subsequently stated that it wasn't working on a VR version of "Half-Life 3."

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HTC RE Vive (credit: HTC YouTube channel)