Wake up, Mr. Freeman: after two years of radio silence, the developers ofHalf-Life 2fan sequelProject Borealishave finally shared an update after two years of radio silence.Project Borealisis based on scrapped plans forHalf-Life 2: Episode Three, which would’ve been the last installment in the episodic trilogy that comprises theHalf-Life 2saga. The officialEpisode Threewas quietly canceled some time after its initial announcement in 2007, since which there have been several fan attempts to revive theHalf-Life 2story.Project Borealisis both the most recent and most promising.
The developers ofProject Borealisrecently posted a thirty-second teaser trailerto the YouTube channel of the same name. This is the first communiqué fromProject Borealisin two years: its developers' last post was on June 16, 2025, and consisted of a brief demo of the game’s wind physics. Two years to the day after that, theProject Borealisaccount on X (formerly Twitter) posted again, warning of an “Incoming Transmission.” This was followed today with the release of a teaser trailer.
TheProject Borealisteaser is brief but revealing, showing a slow pan over a series of abandoned, snow-dusted buildings. Players get a closer look at some furry headcrabs and a discarded shotgun as a feminine voice speaks of a tunnel to Ravenholm. “We don’t go there anymore,” she cautions, “Believe me, that tunnel is sealed for a reason.” The trailer concludes with an apparent title drop, reading “Project Borealis: Prologue,” anda tentative release window of Fall 2024.
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Everything We Know About Project Borealis So Far
Project Borealispicks up whereHalf-Life 2: Episode Twoleft off: on a cliffhanger ending that has yet to receive any kind of official closure. Two years after the release of theHalf-Life 2base game in 2004, Valve began putting out short, episodic sequel chapters, beginning withHalf-Life 2: Episode One. These would directly continue the story ofHalf-Life2;Episode Onebegins immediately after the destruction of the Citadel core, as Gordon and Alyx aid in the evacuation of City 17.
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It was followed again byEpisode Twoin 2007. This chapter portrays a rebellion by the inhabitants of City 17 against the Combine, and ends on a mysterious note. ThroughoutEpisode Two, Gordon, Alyx, and their allies seek theBorealis, a long-missing Aperture Science research ship and the purported location of the vanished Judith Mossman. At the end of the game, Gordon and Alyx prepare to depart for theBorealis, only to be subject to a sudden Combine attack that claims Eli’s life and leaves Alyx grieving.
The Aperture Science corporation appears prominently in thePortalseries, so it’s likely thatHalf-Life 2: Episode 3would’ve united Valve’s two major sci-fi properties.
There was, of course, a planned third part to the trilogy, but it has since become one of the many canceledHalf-Lifeprojects to disappear into the ether.Half-Lifewriter Gary Laidlaw later posted a short story entitled “Epistle 3” on his website, which is often presumed to be his scrapped plot outline forEpisode Three. Laidlaw himself has denied this, butProject Borealisuses the content of this short storyas a basis for its plot.
Therefore, it’s likely thatProject Borealiswill see Gordon and Alyx finding the titular Aperture ship, and discovering that it was used to research interdimensional travel. Its systems malfunction, and the two find themselves lost in time as they struggle to gain control of theBorealis, and find a way to weaponize it against the Combine.
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However, what’s being advertised in the teaser appears to be a mere prologue, with the protagonists traveling through a perilous, abandoned tunnel towards theBorealis. The first part ofProject Borealisis due out this fall, but it may be some time before it gets to the meat of the story. Still,Half-Life 2fans are so starved for content that this sudden resurgence is nothing short of miraculous.
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 is the sequel to Half-Life and continues the cult-classic Valve series that sees Gordon Freeman in a fight for his life against hostile aliens. Half-Life 2 won a series of game awards and stands as one of the best first-person shooters ever created.
