So is Portal 3 Going to Happen or Not?

People with an interest in video games should be familiar with the puzzle platformer series Portal to some extent. After all, Portal came out in 2007 while Portal 2 came out in 2011, meaning that it hasn’t been that long since the series’s last release. On top of that, it should be remembered that both Portal and Portal 2 were huge successes, so much so that Portal 2 is still considered to be one of the best video games ever made. As such, it is no wonder that a lot of people still hope to see Valve make Portal 3, though speaking bluntly, the chances of that happening are not particularly high to say the least. Here are some of the reasons that interested individuals shouldn’t expect to see Portal 3 anytime soon:

Change of Focus

There was a time when Valve was best-known for being a video game developer. However, that is no longer true in the present because Valve now specializes in digital distribution. After all, it is the corporation behind Steam, which might be seeing more and more competition in recent times but nonetheless promises to remain the most powerful player in its chosen market for the foreseeable future. As a result, while Value still releases games from time to time, it is clear that its focus has changed to digital distribution rather than game development.

Key Individuals Are No Longer Around

Speaking of which, it should be mentioned that the key people behind Portal 2 have since headed elsewhere, which is perhaps unsurprising considering Value’s change of focus. Theoretically, Valve could still make an amazing follow-up for the Portal series using the talent that it has now, but even if it proves to be successful in this regard, there is a good chance that players will be able to tell the difference in development teams. Something that could have a detrimental effect on a theoretical Portal 3 and thus by extension Valve itself.

Way Too Much Hype

In fact, considering the hype that has been built up around the Portal series, it seems safe to say that making the game would actually be a pretty risky move. Sure, Valve has actually managed to exceed expectations for its properties in the past, but that doesn’t change the fact that it can’t guarantee that it will be able to make a worthwhile successor to what is considered to be one of the best video games ever made. This is particularly true because time has caused Portal 2 to grow in the imagination, thus making the success of a theoretical Portal 3 that much more challenging. Compared with the sums of money that Valve is already bringing in through its existing sources of revenue, most people would be tempted to just stick to the safe route.

There Might Not Be Much Internal Interest

On a related note, while there is plenty of external interest in Portal 3, there might not be much internal interest for the same. In fact, there are stories about how when Portal became successful, a lot of people at Valve pushed for making a Portal 2 because they wanted to get involved in something so interesting. After they got that out of their system, it is possible that they are no longer that motivated to indulge in such a desire a second time. Alternatively, it is also possible that the people at Valve have channeled whatever interest that they might have had in revisiting the Portal series into the spinoff called The Lab, which was a relatively recent VR game set in the Portal setting that was intended to show off some VR capabilities.

Valve Might Be Avoiding 3s

Finally, this one is probably nothing more than a superstition born out of coincidences. However, there are nonetheless some people who think that Valve isn’t going to make a Portal 3 because it is avoiding third main installments altogether. After all, Portal series isn’t the sole Valve series of note to have stopped at 2 without moving on, as shown by the lack of a Half-Life 3, the lack of a Team Fortress 3, and the lack of a Left 4 Dead 3. Ultimately, interested individuals shouldn’t take this explanation too seriously, but without knowing more about what happens behind the scenes at Valve, there is a reason that this piece of speculation has become so popular among Valve fans.

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