Valve returned to the art of single-player game design in a big way with the release of VR supremo Half-Life: Alyx last year, and its founder and CEO Gabe Newell says that the game's reception and development have left the company eager to make more single-player games. 

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Giving an interview to local TV in New Zealand, where he's stayed throughout the pandemic (a lucky choice if ever there was one), Newell said: "

"We definitely have games in development that we’re going to be announcing - it’s fun to ship games. Alyx was great - to be back doing single-player games, that created a lot of momentum inside of the company to do more of that"

He wouldn't be drawn to reveal what exactly that means, though, knowing full well that even Alyx hasn't staunched the powerful hype for any chance of a full, proper Half-Life 3, to pick up after the enormous cliffhanger that the last chronological game, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, ended on.

It's not the firmest of confirmations, we have to admit, and Newell clearly knows better than to say anything more, but it's been enough to set people chattering about when we might see the game for the first time. Valve didn't bother leaving much room between Alyx's announcement and its release, so we could be in for a bit of a rollercoaster. 

Of course, it could also mean there's a new Portal game in the works, or a new IP entirely, but the overall impression is a heartening one. It's great to hear that Valve is seemingly fully back in the game.