Is Portal 2 Valve's last single-player game?

By Fred Dutton Published 25 April, 2011

Multiplayer-focused future hinted at.

Portal 2 is Valve's final dedicated single-player game, according to comments allegedly made by the studio to GameTrailer TV's Geoff Keighley.

At the end of Keighley's recent The Final Hours of Portal 2 report – a behind-the-scenes App Store release looking at the making of Valve's sequel – he wrote "Portal 2 will probably be Valve's last game with an isolated single-player experience."

When asked to qualify that statement on his blog, Keighley added, "This is coming from Valve, although I don't have a lot more to share other than what is in the story.

"I agree it's a provocative statement, especially given the amazing single player storyline in Portal 2. Keep in mind Valve said 'probably', so I get the feeling that this could change."

Valve's next confirmed release is the resolutely multiplayer-focused DOTA 2, the controversial sequel to the popular Defense of the Ancients Warcraft III RTS mod.

Portal 2 launched last week, scoring a perfect 10/10 from Eurogamer's Oli Welsh.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Lord_Gremlin #1 1 year ago

    Whatever. I don't buy games without dedicated singleplayer. Come to think of it, I only play multiplayer if SP is so good it leaves you wanting more of the game.

  • DUFFKING #2 1 year ago

    Isolated singleplayer? Surely he just means that future titles will probably have multi player and single player?

  • Snufkin #3 1 year ago

    What the frick??
    I hope they mean it'll be integrated mutliplayer in a similar vein to Demon's Souls. Not sure I can handle the thought of having to play Halflife 3 with a bunch of plebs wrecking the joint.

  • oceanmotion #4 1 year ago

    Not hard to believe and doesn't necessarily mean the death of single player, more likely co-op features having more emphasis. You could easily play as Alex in Half Life 2 in a few levels for example. I expect some sort of co-op experience in Episode 3, albeit as an option and not the only way to play.

  • Freek #5 1 year ago

    Yeah, talking about " probably" no longer having isolated singleplayer experiences is something entirely different form going multiplayer only.
    It hints at more co-operative story driven experiences and/or tying singplayer into online components.

  • dean0null #6 1 year ago

    That just means that every campaign will also be tailored to work with coop as well. Instead of only being able to play the campaign by yourself, you also can play with a friend. That is what he is saying.

  • Nevflinn #7 1 year ago

    Fred, I don't mean to nitpick, as I know that these things happen, but there's something I should point out here.
    I think you mixed up the links for the Portal 2 review and the DoTA news-statement.

  • Shikasama #8 1 year ago

    Is Portal 2 Valve's last single-player game?

    No. The answer to your question lies in the quote you published.

  • kupocake #9 1 year ago

    "Portal 2 will probably be Valve's last game with an isolated single-player experience."

    =/=

    "last single-player game"

    In other news: Half-Life 2 sequel, 'Aftermath' will feature playable Dog and Alyx because of some sentence some potato-head mashed together when in Seattle. Oh, and the developers behind the Godfather game are totally making System Shock 3.

  • Hunam #10 1 year ago

    I think this is Valve just going on information control. They like to keep everyone on their toes to be honest.

  • Pastici #11 1 year ago

    10 replies in and its good to see kneejerck reactions of gamers are still super strong.

  • Pulsar_t #12 1 year ago

    Get over yourself.

  • God_Octo #13 1 year ago

    When it comes to buying games, I normally think no singleplayer = no purchase. I don't want to have to play online, sometimes I just want to sit alone and play. Multiplayer-only is like having to watch a film in the cinema - it's nice occasionally, but not all the time.

    More co-op and offline multiplayer games, however, would be lovely- splitscreen is the one thing I think last generation did better than this one. Apart from LittleBigPlanet, I can't think of any excellent PS360 offline multiplayer games. But a move to online only, multiplayer games would just stop me buying games.

  • DirectAim #14 1 year ago

    There is no money in single player games anymore..... fools

  • bad09 #15 1 year ago

    Basically this means no single player only, so Valve are just doing what most are doing these days. Somewhere a law has been written for this industry that states you must include MP in every game made. I only really enjoyed L4D from Valve anyway so obviously I doubt it will be something I care about!

    I don't get the obsession with it TBH, despite loving it once upon a time multiplayer has now become something I try on games for about five minutes before betting really bored and I start looking for a nice single player game to sink into.

  • AaronTurner #16 1 year ago

    I hate co-op.

  • doctorgonzo #17 1 year ago

    Errrrrr ... no Half Life ep 3? Say it ain't so!

  • mooseti #18 1 year ago

    Wot no ep 3?

    How can Valve (and other developers) expect the fan base to remain loyal in the face of massive gaps between ip's? Rockstar we're looking at you too!

    Ubi-Soft is a prime example of a dev doing it right! A 12 month wait between Creed 2 and AC BH? Yes please!

    Rockstar we're looking at you too!

  • Jamieb87 #19 1 year ago

    God I can see it now, 32 customised Freemans running around an abandoned theme park, noob tubing each other.

    In all seriousness though I cant't see them forcing traditional MP on Half-Life, Valve are too good and too smart to fuck up their greatest franchise.

    I imagine/hope the comments are being taken a little too literally. If MP does come to Half-Life, it's probably gonna be in a form we can't even concieve yet. Maybe something with a more meta angle?

    Just please don't break my heart Gabe.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #20 1 year ago

    That's fine. As long as Valve are fine with me (and probably many other people) not buying their games anymore. Some of us just don't 'do' multiplayer.

  • Subi #21 1 year ago

    Every single gamer, myself included, turns into a complete prick when playing online. This is what makes multiplayer unbearable, and why it should be banned. End of.

  • MJHaylett #22 1 year ago

    if its true then I wont be playing any Valve games again :( I like my games single player and I always will.

  • DrStrangelove #23 1 year ago

    No HL3? That is sad.

    However, if they make a good deathmatch game like Q3A again, that would be great too. I really miss some good straightforward deathmatch action, I'm tired of all that teamplay and co-op shite.

  • darkmorgado #24 1 year ago

    @DirectAim

    "There is no money in single player games anymore..... fools "

    Try saying that to Bethesda. Or Bioware. Or Square. Or From. Or Crystal Dynamics....

  • Der_tolle_Emil #25 1 year ago

    Single player is by far the most important aspect for me. I've literally just finished Portal 2 and it is fantastic. Did co-op before that with a friend and it was just as good.

    However, I don't necessarily like the idea of tailoring every campaign so coop is possible. So far no game has really managed to do that, as the game suffered so co-op would work or co-op was just shoehorned into the game and made no sense. It is even more weird that this statement comes from Valve since their games do evolve around a single character most of the time.

    Not really sure what to make of this. In the end it will turn out that the statement was just really badly worded but that still asks the question why post it in the first place.

  • Ninja_Tino #26 1 year ago

    I don't want all my Resident Evil 4s turning into Resident Evil 5s.

  • Farzlepot #27 1 year ago

    They'd better not turn Half-Life Episode 3 into a co-op shit-fest.

    When I buy a single-player game, I want a single-player game. I'm not interested in co-op, and multiplayer bores me. I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard (plenty of gamers aren't even connected).

    As others have said, when co-op is focussed on, the single-player experience invariably suffers horribly. Gears of War, for example.

  • Widge #28 1 year ago

    Half life 2 was BORING. everything they have done since then has been miles more interesting. Leave half life behind and focus on new things please.

  • matseffect #29 1 year ago

    I really don't see Half Life going anywhere soon. Who knows what Valve will do and Valve being Valve I am not worried or would I take that one comment as defining every game they will make from this point forward.

  • GamesConnoisseur #30 1 year ago

    I GET that games nowdays have mp or co op online elements involved as well as sp core experience, but I DONT get is that Portal 2 IS also both sp and co op online as well AND wasnt a dedicated sp only game??!!

    Seem to be a confused bloke!

  • Mister-Wario #31 1 year ago

    I wonder what Half-Life would be like with co-op. I actually think it could work pretty well. There's potential for a good mix of combat and puzzle-solving, perhaps.

  • uknortherner2000 #32 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado

    I think DirectAim's post was a tongue-in-cheek swipe at the developers who think multiplayer is the future and must be shoehorned into just about everything.

    I think...

  • TheTingler #33 1 year ago

    I think there must be some mistake here. Valve wouldn't let a bombshell like that out so uncertainly, and after Portal 2, arguably their greatest single-player campaign. I'm prepared to bet it's just that any single-player content will come with a multiplayer component, that's all.

    @kupocake: "Oh, and the developers behind the Godfather game are totally making System Shock 3." That was actually about Dead Space, which is very similar to System Shock.

  • JamieR #34 1 year ago

    I hate cheap games that are multiplayer only, They is plenty out there already anyways.

  • hiddenranbir #35 1 year ago

    Multi-player Gordon Freeman can fuck right off.

  • mornegroth #36 1 year ago

    What about the sequel to the best game ever made? No dedicated SP? Bullshit :p

  • CamberGreber #37 1 year ago

    No Half-life 3 makes me MADDD!!

    Strong Singleplayer is a must.

  • Architect_z #38 1 year ago

    New counterstrike maybe?

  • andywilkie35 #39 1 year ago

    Where's Half Life 3? Fuck episode 3, no one cares anymore, just give us the next one and make it SP please.

  • Inmediasress #40 1 year ago

    @God_Octo
    Completely agree a good single player campaign is what most games need.

    @ bad09
    That's what I have been thinking as well. Devs or maybe publishers or both seem to think that tacked on multiplayer makes their games sell better. I guess people that think that you need multiplayer in survival horror games like dead space is a good idea also contribute to this tought.

  • thomaspower0 #41 1 year ago

    If the sequel to Half-Life 2 will be multiplayer I'm going to cry for sure.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #42 1 year ago

    Surely he just means all their single-player games will have co-op modes? Halo and Gears spring to mind as two titles that have done this for ages. And, well, dozens of others.

    I can't imagine you'll have to play Half-Life 3 with a mate.

  • huckan #43 1 year ago

    I'm not convinced this news wasn't from the bagel guy.....

  • SFG_Clan #44 1 year ago

    GAAAAAAAAAAAABEEEE

    Where is Episode 3!?

  • Dr.Frappers #45 1 year ago

    Half Life 2 back in 2004 had an MP element: "Half Life 2 Deathmatch"...(PC) which Valve released because of the demand for it.

    HL2:DM was awesome back in the day and still has dedicated clans playing it and creating maps.
    And no, it didn't have multiple Gordon Freemans running around. Completely viable for HL3.
    But i think this isn't the issue here, MP has always been a staple of Valves releases (Day of Defeat, Counter-Strike), I have no worries......

  • markb1166 #46 1 year ago

    Wonder if they realise the link to the review is wrong?

  • BlinkeredAxis #47 1 year ago

    Don't forget (all the above posters seem to have), that Valve made one of the best multiplayer games of all time (Left 4 Dead 1&2), which were phenomenally successful.

    They spent 3 years making it, and boy was it worth it!

    This probably means that after another single player romp (Portal 2), they'll maybe do another multiplayer epic (I hope so!).

    After that, Half Life 3 (in 2014).

  • DarknRahl #48 1 year ago

    Got your links mixed up at the end of the article about DOTA and Portal 2.

  • jimr9999us #49 1 year ago

    Ummm, it's Valve. There will be a HL3, 4, 5, etc and whatever format or genre or whatever they want to call it, they will all be great.