Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Turns 19 – Gamers Still Begging Valve for More

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 is turning 19, and the gamers are still reminiscing. The anniversary post by @thegameawards wreaked havoc across the net. It was the last straw for those desperate to cling to any scrap hinting at Half-Life 3 or anything from Valve other than another Steam update.

Simple enough was the original tweet: just a grateful note to the game for its release and a beautiful key art attached. The replies? Pure pandemonium. Some gamers practically took it as a hint (of course they did), while others just used it as an excuse to rant on about Valve’s refusal to complete the trilogy. Classic.

One of these replies said, “2 + 1 = 3. Half-Life 3 confirmed.” Now, listen, math was something that was never my strong suit, but even I knew that was a bit off. You do have to respect the dedication, though. One person replied, “Don’t do this to me y’all,” and it was accompanied with a GIF of someone obviously hyperventilating. Mood.

Respectfully came the demands—with a capital D. “Jeff tell Gaben that it’s not funny. Tell them to make a trailer of HLX for your presentation.” Very bold and very direct. The one thing it probably won’t do is make any difference, but hey, you can’t win if you don’t try. Others demanded a remaster because apparently 19 years is just long enough to justify it. (Spoiler: It is.)

Of course, not everyone was so positive. One reply called Episode 1 “a boring episode but sometimes fun,” which is…ouch. Harsh, but fair? Meanwhile, another gamer made complaints about the lack of new games with Barney since then. Priorities, people.

Better still? The Game Awards account decided to post about Half Life. Suddenly, your mother is bringing up your ex. Suspicious. Theorys ensued about instant clues-“Is this a hint?” “WAIT WAIT WAIT… Game Awards posting Half Life?”-because hope is a disease and we have all caught it.

Valve, of course, are eerily silent. Not shocking, though. But hey, we did get Alyx a few years back? Yeah? Right??

And so here we are: Another anniversary, another round of desperate pleas, another day of Valve acting like they don’t hear us. Will Half-Life 3 ever happen? Probably not. But that won’t stop the gamers from doing that math (2 + 1 = 3, remember?) and making fools of themselves every single time Valve so much as breathes around a keyboard.

And honestly? Same.