"Return to Ravenholm," aka "Half-Life 2: Episode 4," was a Half-Life 2 episode set in the spooky abandoned town. It's been canceled for a few years now, but we've gotten a better look at the game that could have been thanks to some new concept art and animation tests. It was in development at Dishonored developer Arkane Studios around 2006, but was ultimately scrapped.

Watch: The Half-Life episode that never was »

Fans have been waiting years for the next Half-Life installment, be it the rumored Half-Life 3 or even just Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Valve hasn't been very forthcoming with sequel plans, but studio boss Gabe Newell has at least opened up on a reason for all the silence.

Read more: Wants to avoid the 'twists and turns' of development »

The Mac OS version of Valve's digital distribution platform Steam will be released on May 12, the company confirmed today.

No other details on the launch were given--the announcement was a brief two sentences--though it will presumably debut alongside the native Mac versions of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal and the Half-Life series originally slated to launch with the Mac client in April 2010. Read more »

After some heavy-handed hints, Valve today confirmed that it will be bringing its previously Windows-only digital distribution platform Steam to the Mac in April 2010.

Said the company: "Steam and Valve's library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April." Read more »

While Half-Life developer Valve has remained rather quiet as to when series star Gordon Freeman will continue his crowbar-wielding antics, a rumor currently making the rounds claims that it won't be this year.

"Loose Talk has learned that there won't be any game from the franchise in 2010, and what will finally come out is still unknown," reads the self-proclaimed "rumors and scuttlebutt" column in the February 2010 issue of Game Informer. "Will it be Half-Life 2: Episode Three? Or will it be a full-on Half-Life 3?" Read more »

Following up on recent comments regarding Half-Life 2: Episode Three, Shacknews caught up with Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi to briefly discuss the anticipated sequel.

What's the deal with the longer development period this time around? And is Freeman going back to the future? Read on to find out.

Warning: Episode Two spoiler ahead. Read more »

Bad news, Freeman fans. It looks like Half-Life 2: Episode Three won't arrive for a while--possibly 2010--going by an interview with Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi.

"The next time you play as Gordon will be longer than the distance between Half-Life 2 to Episode One, and Episode One to Episode Two," Lombardi told Kikizo when asked about Episode Three. Read more »

The first widely available piece of concept art for the final episode of Valve's Half-Life 2 saga has been uncovered via the 2008 IntoThePixel E3 art gallery.

The piece--created by Valve artists Ted Backman, Jeremy Bennett, and Tristan Redford--appears to show Half-Life hero Gordon Freeman within a large Citadel-like environment, a Combine Advisor looming ominously overhead. Read more »