Not-E3 is in full swing today with Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest Live showcase scheduled for the evening of June 6. No one but the Game Awards host and his close circle of confidants and business partners knows what will be announced during the event, but fans are once again praying for the impossible as fanatics track Valve owner Gabe Newell’s superyacht hoping for signs he’s one his way to the gaming event to reveal Half-Life 3.
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“Gabe’s Yacht just arrived in California, the state with SGF’s Youtube Theater [in LA],” fans posted on the Half-Life subreddit earlier this week. They spotted its departure from the San Francisco port using Vessel Finder as visions of Gordon Freeman and synth hunters danced in their heads. They knew it was ridiculous but nevertheless dared to dream. “Well. SGF is actually Friday and, Gabe is in the gaming industry,” one fan wrote on the subreddit. “So, It’s not a shock he would be in attendance but I doubt he’s there to present anything. But, I really hope I’m wrong.”
Newell owns several big boats. The one currently heading down the California coast is called the Rocinante. It weighs 2,334 tons and is worth an estimated $100 million. “The motor yacht can accommodate 18 guests in 9 cabins with an interior design by Albert Pinto and an exterior design by Espen Oeino,” reported Luxury Launches back in 2023. “The ship is equipped with a beauty salon, sauna, gym, deck Jacuzzi, and an affluent owner!” So that’s where the billions Valve earns from Counter-Strike loot boxes go!
Rumors of Half-Life 3 have been swirling since shortly after the second game was released way back in 2004, but picked up steam last year after a mysterious “White Sands” codename popped up on a voice actor’s resume before later being scrubbed from the internet. The discovery renewed belief that Valve is not only working on a new Half-Life game but also one that’s not in VR like 2020’s critically acclaimed prequel Half-Life: Alyx. Fans thought it might be announced at The Game Awards 2024. It was not.
Now they think it could happen at Summer Game Fest, mostly because Keighley posted about the series’ 19th anniversary earlier this month. Alleged leaks suggesting Half-Life 3 is in development and might even be completed continue to mount, but whether that means an announcement could happen at one of Keighley’s shows is something else altogether. Whatever’s going on, the superyacht probably has nothing to do with it. Its destination is currently set to San Diego, over two hours south of Los Angeles by car, and it’s not set to arrive there until tomorrow.
There’s not even any evidence that Newell is currently on the Rocinante as it journeys south. But, I mean, it would be cool if the Steam billionaire decided to temporarily park his big boat in the Pacific and take a helicopter to the YouTube Theater and parachute in during the end of the ceremony to show the crowd one last trailer for an unannounced game the internet hasn’t shut up about for decades. It would certainly make the $450 front-row seats worth the price of admission. More likely, this is just another case of the “community trolling the community,” but a fun one nonetheless.