Valve is said to be working on a Half-Life RTS for the Steam Deck, which will be used to demonstrate the hardware’s capabilities. A Half-Life RTS is supposedly in the works for Valve’s long-awaited Steam Deck and will reportedly be used to demonstrate the capabilities of the new hardware. While Half-Life: Alyx satisfied many fans’ desire for more Half-Life content, it wasn’t the Half-Life 3 title that many were hoping for. And, despite rumours on the internet, Valve is not working on a Half-Life sequel, as many fans may hope. Even if a few Valve developers are working on Half-Life 3, complete development is still a long way off — if it ever happens.
After substantial delays with the Steam Deck due to supply concerns, Valve’s new handheld platform is anticipated to ship in February 2022. The device is described as a portable PC that can access the majority of a player’s Steam library while remaining cost-effective and portable. Valve’s Steam Deck includes joysticks similar to those found on other portable devices such as the Nintendo Switch, as well as a touchscreen, touchpads, and back buttons, which might make it an accessible portable gaming choice. The Steam Deck will not play all of Steam’s 50,000 titles, as previously stated, but it will display which of those titles are compatible via a verification method. Despite the fact that the Steam Deck is still months away from release, Valve just sent out a limited number of developer kits, and the early feedback has been very good. Valve, on the other hand, has several projects in the works as other firms begin to produce games on the Steam Deck.
According to PCGamesN, Valve is working on a Half-Life RTS that will show off the Steam Deck’s full potential. On his YouTube channel, Valve News Network creator Tyler McVicker said that the project, codenamed Citadel, is an FPS and RTS co-op game that is a “nostalgia-fest” and the love-child of “Left 4 Dead, Alien Swarm, an RTS, and Half-Life.” Citadel is said to be “being designed with the Steam Deck in mind,” but it’s still “very much in production” and won’t be released for another year and a half to two years.
Citadel’s purpose is unknown, as is the game’s connection to the Half-Life series. While McVicker stated that he obtained his information through data mining regularly-updated Valve software – and that he has been collecting information on Citadel since 2018 – he was unable to share precise details about the game’s plot or mechanics.
Citadel might, however, be a standalone game inspired by Valve’s Half-Life franchise rather than a replacement for future titles in the series. In his video, McVicker stated that a VR sequel to Half-Life: Alyx is in the works but that it is still in the “mechanical testing phases,” implying that it is still a long way off from release. Citadel might serve as a link between Half-Life: Alyx and future Half-Life games while also demonstrating the capabilities of Valve’s Steam Deck.
While Citadel is being built, there will most likely be a lot of mystery surrounding it. The prospective product, which is an FPS/RTS co-op game that blends elements of Left 4 Dead, Alien Swarm, and Half-Life, has the ingredients to stand out – especially since development is underway with the Steam Deck in mind.