A last minute Valve conference is called at the 2012 Gamescom. Gamers drop what they’re doing and rush to the venue. Gabe Newell walks on stage. The crowd cheers, visibly excited. Alone on stage, Gabe raises his hands and the crowd gets quiet. He simply says “Here it is” and the screen behind him opens up to reveal a trailer. An icy landscape is on screen. Background music is playing. Alyx appears, as does Barney. The Borealis flashes on the screen and the G-Man makes a short speech. Gordon Freeman appears, crowbar in hand. A final screen shows the title of the game and a date – 2013.
At this point, the crowd erupts. A frenzy washes over the audience like a wave, propelling people out of their chairs. Some start throwing their wallets onto the stage. Parties erupt around the world as thousands of people see the news live. Websites are choked as millions of fan sites and message boards are exploding with discussion, and game journalists make their fingers bleed on their keyboards as they write stories about this miracle.
Valve Corporation goes public and the stock doubles instantly. Pre-orders are opened on Steam and set records never before seen for any form of entertainment. Gabe Newell is named Time’s Person of the Year as Valve overtakes Apple as the most successful company in history. Half-Life 3 becomes the best video game of all time.