Half-Life Episode 3 confirmed

By Ellie Gibson Published 25 May, 2006

Plus: trailer for Ep 1 now showing.

Valve has confirmed that Half-Life 2: Episode One will go on sale on June 1st via the Steam download service, priced at $19.99.

Once again you play as Dr Gordon Freeman, but this time you get to explore the world outside City 17 together with the lovely Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog. It's said to offer between four and six hours of gameplay, and the good news is you don't need the original game to play. There's a teaser trailer now showing on Eurogamer TV.

Episode One will also offer a sneak peek at Episode Two, which is due to be released by the end of the year. And Valve has confirmed that a third instalment is in development - apparently "Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes that will conclude by Christmas 2007," don't you know.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 6 years ago

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

  • Perry #1 6 years ago

    First one was amazing to me.

  • JHuxley #2 6 years ago

    Well, at that price I won't complain if it's more of the same...

    I actually quite like the Steam platform. At first it seemed pointless and intrusive, but it's grown on me since. Downloading games like this is pretty neat.

  • Darren #3 6 years ago

    I've already downloaded Episode One and am eager to play it come 1st June. Shame it only lasts around five hours though and that the next episode isn't due until the end of the year. It might have been better had the developers written all three episodes and then staggered their release over three months but never mind, at least we're not having to wait six years for the follow ups like we did for Half-Life 2...

  • TwistidChimp #4 6 years ago

    I'm really looking forward to the Commentary aswell, aparently they've included one for the whole game, similar to he one from Lost Coast. Gonna have to play it through twice, once without and once with the commentary.

  • jack_klugman #5 6 years ago

    I must say episodic content does make replaying games sound like much less of a chore. I can imagine getting my money's worth out of those 5 hours.

  • Xerx3s #6 6 years ago

    Dullest teaser ever.

  • neuroniky #7 6 years ago

    The trilogy ends up on XMas 2007? I hoped these episodic games to get closer releases... 4-6 hours every 6 months seems like a little bit too spaced for my tastes.

  • absolutezero #8 6 years ago

    Pre-ordered, pre-loaded on Steam. I want now!!

  • Feanor #9 6 years ago

    $20 for 5 hours is a rip-off when Valve get every last cent of that money.

  • Contra #10 6 years ago

    The good thing about episodic content is, that the developer has to prove to us, that it is worth buying another episode! So we, the gamers, basically have checkpoints to see if it's worth spending another 20$. I like it.

  • SeesThroughAll #11 6 years ago

    20 euros for 5 hours gameplay sounds too expensive if you ask me.

  • jack_klugman #12 6 years ago

    20 euros for 5 hours gameplay sounds too expensive if you ask me.

    You wouldn't like Black in that case...

  • TwistidChimp #13 6 years ago

    10 quid for 5 hours sounds fine to me, if it was 30 quid for a 15 hour game would you complain ?
    Edited by TwistidChimp at 25/05/06 @ 15:30

  • bluebird #14 6 years ago

    HL2 was a total disappointment to me and a waste of money. I hope they will innovate the gameplay this time instead of the graphics, as well as fix the annoying hickups while moving through levels.

  • CargoCult #15 6 years ago

    Played it already! ;-)

  • Sko #16 6 years ago

    "10 quid for 5 hours sounds fine to me, if it was 30 quid for a 15 hour game would you complain ?"

    Or, spend 50 quid for a 5 hour and you'd end up with Tomb Raider : Legend ;)

  • projectmayhem #17 6 years ago

    3 episodes by christmas 2007?

    i've preloaded and everything, but if each episode is about 6 hours of gameplay that's about 18 hours for $60... in chunks that take months to come out (and will most likely get delayed).

    they better update CSS and DoD more!

  • space_ace #18 6 years ago

    after all the mumbo-jumbo, it better be, you know, interesting, or else...

  • smelly #19 6 years ago

    I'd too would rather have 3 episodes over a period of time, than wait until chrimble 2007 to play the full thing.

  • neilka #20 6 years ago

    Bear in mind this is Valve - it took them 6 years to give us the 20 or so hours of HL2, so another 15 hours of episodes in 3 years isn't too bad. Maybe at this rate we'll see HL3 before 2010...?