For years on end Half Life was edging towards being a joke franchise - one that was never going to be resurrected, no matter how hard its loyal fanbase complained. 

Half Life: Alyx smashed that narrative right down into the ground last year, releasing to widespread acclaim and breathing new life into the series with a fully realised VR adventure.

Its ending opens up a wealth of new possibilities, too, and a new interview with the game's project lead confirms that Valve is far from done with Half Life.

Robin Walker, talking to TheGamer, confirmed that Valve is fully aware that fans might have felt a bit abandoned at points between Half Life 2: Episode Two and the eventual released Alyx, and that such a long gap hopefully won't happen again. 

He also makes the interesting admission that the team at Valve were similarly worried that Half Life was simply a franchise that wouldn't be touched again.

However, while the interview goes nowhere near confirming that another game is in development, it still makes hopeful reading. For all of Alyx's many, many strengths, the fact that it's locked to VR on a solid gaming PC means that it's still not been played by as many people as would want to - even with a hugely impressive two million copies sold.

Whether the still-mythical Half Life 3 ever comes about is an open question, but Valve's willingness to talk about the franchise now can only bode well for its continued good health.