Portal 2 might be Valve's last game to feature a dedicated single-player campaign if industry murmurings are to be believed.
GTTV's Geoff Keighley indicated as much in a recent Final Hours of Portal 2 app by saying that "Portal 2 will probably be Valve's last game with an isolated single-player experience." Following on from this, a reader on the Final Hours of Portal 2 blog asked Keighley whether this info was direct from Valve or based on Keighley's reading of industry trends, to which he responded:
"This is coming from Valve, although I don't have a lot more to share other than what is in the story. I agree it's a provocative statement, especially given the amazing single-player storyline in Portal 2. Keep in mind Valve said "probably," so I get the feeling that this could change."
Valve's currently announced projects include Dota 2, a sequel to the original Defense of the Ancients Warcraft III mod. Like the original incarnation, Valve's sequel will focus squarely on online multiplayer.
Other than that, Valve also has the long awaited Half-Life 2: Episode 3, which has been under a media blackout for a number of years now. Whether this latest news includes the Half-Life series or is merely referring to speculative future titles remains unclear. Nonetheless, it does cast further doubt on the future of Episode 3.
One thing's for certain though: if Valve is redirecting its priorities away from single-player titles, then the game industry may be losing one of the grand masters of that particular craft.
We'll keep our ears pricked for more on this worrying story...