Portal 3 could be a thing, but Valve’s structure won’t allow it

Following Valve’s long-running hatred of the number three, Portal writer Eric Wolpaw that the game studio isn’t built correctly to make Portal 3. It looks like Half-Life 3 isn’t the only game Valve will never make.

The writer, now back at Valve after a period in Double Fine, has mentioned several times how he would like to go back to the comedic puzzle. Wolpaw revealed that he even has an idea which could function as "a starting point", but as stated in a recent podcast, "the flat structure of Valve" won’t allow it.

"Whatever is going on at Valve right now requires the dedication and participation of the people working on it—and it's voluntary,” the writer said regarding the creation of Portal 3.

The writer mentions how there would need to be more internal support behind the idea which, so far, seems to be missing entirely.

In the same interview, Wolpaw also describes Valve as a much smaller company than people think. Consequently, it is not easy to have the opportunity to develop as many titles as they'd like. "It takes manpower to keep Dota going, it takes manpower to keep CSGO going. And the freeform nature of Valve means that there are a lot of experiments that simply fail."

Referring to fans that have been complaining that Valve has not really been developing any game, the developer has defended its employer. "[in Valve] things are happening—if you were inside Valve, you would think that stuff was always going on, because it is."

The writer also explains how, with everything going on in the company, there would need to be some serious manpower for the third title in the Portal series to happen. Most the developers are busy on running day-to-day projects, but he still is - jokingly - giving the company "a hard time" to make the project happen.

That cake might be a lie, but the number three for Valve continues to be one serious issue.