One of the main writers on the Half-Life series released a staid “Epistle” depicting his version of the next game in the series — and, in a reaction as Pavlovian as it is premature, the internet took it and ran all the way to the conclusion that the series is dead.
It’s unclear exactly which game this Epistle is referring to. It appears to be a summary of writer Marc Laidlaw’s version of Half-Life 2: Episode 3, genderflipped with tweaked character names (he calls it “fanfic“). It’s too long to summarize here, but ends on a distinctly final note that has fans in a twist:
Expect no further correspondence from me regarding these matters; this is my final epistle.
Yours in infinite finality,
Gertrude Fremont, Ph.D.
And because Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and Half-Life 3 are both tied together in collective conscience as the continuation of the franchise, many fans on Reddit and Twitter are convinced this means the end of Half-Life. Reactions online range from wistful goodbyes…
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…to determination that the modders shall set things right.
It’s a tempest in a teapot. Laidlaw releasing the ending he’d have written had he had the chance (he no longer works for Valve) isn’t the same as a death rattle to the whole franchise. Hope springs eternal, and Laidlaw is adamant the story is in no way a canon resolution to Gordon Freeman’s story.
It's 0% official!
— Marc Laidlaw (@marc_laidlaw) August 25, 2017
It’s a pity that we haven’t (yet) got the game that Laidlaw describes, because it sounds like the one of the most interesting spectacle games I’ve ever heard of. But, if the reactions of the industrious fans is anything to go by, we may get to see some modded versions of this yet.
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