One of the most famous jokes among video game fans is that Valve doesn’t know how to count to three. Most likely there will never be a Half Time 3and it Half Time 2 The episode stops at two. But thanks to a new documentary, we have a reason why we never got it Half Life 2: Episode 3.

In Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Documentaryposted on YouTube last week, Valve’s past and present developers outlined the history of the classic shooter. The philosophy behind the episodes, which follow the main game, is “doing more with less.” So episode 1 have Alyx follow you throughout the game as an active companion, and players meet the Hunters for the first time episode 2.

Technology is still at the heart of this episode, and episode 3 looks very ambitious in terms of features. Developers interviewed for the documentary said they had several concepts for the ending, such as how the film would be set in the North Pole with a new ice gun that allows you to create shapes like walls and ledges of ice, and that development took about six months. But because of all its features, it will take a few more years before it can be released.

Then Leaving 4 Dead be a priority. Valve dropped episode 3 to work on it, but when it was finished, the developers felt it was too late to go back. Valve engineer David Speyrer said it was “tragic and almost comical” because “it took quite a long time for us to consider going back to episode 3, the argument is made, like, “Well, we missed it. It’s too late now.”

There was also discussion that the team needed a new engine for the final episode, although Spreyer said that was “so wrong” in hindsight. Valve founder Gabe Newell said that moving the story forward isn’t enough.

“Yes, of course they liked the story; they like so many aspects of it. But if it says that the reason you’re doing it is because people want to know what happens next… we can deliver it, it won’t be that hard. My personal failure is being confused. I don’t know why it does that episode 3 pushing things forward.”

Plus, the relatively small development team is interested in other technologies. Ultimately this will lead to Half Life: AlyxVR exclusive spin-off.

There’s other interesting information from the documentary about some of the fan-favorite elements in the game, and how it all came to be. Here is a partial list.

• The game is visually much darker at first, especially in the early concept art.
• The team felt it Half Time 2 deviating from its horror gaming roots, which is how Ravenholm’s iconic levels were born.
• That Half Time 2 Airboats are a great way to travel, but playtesters didn’t want to stay on the boat, so Valve had to create rewards and missions to reward those players.
• Valve nearly went bankrupt before the game even came out thanks to a lawsuit from distribution-focused Vivendi. However, an intern who understood Korean was able to determine that Vivendi had engaged in illegal actions after reading some documents, which led to Valve being able to drop the lawsuit.
• The Ravenholm exclusive game is being developed by Arkane Lyon.