Half-Life 2 Episode 3 Fan Mod Targets Late 2026 as Laidlaw’s Ideas Surface
Valve narrative writer Marc Laidlaw stepped away from the company in 2016, and the following year he published Epistle 3. Presented as a short, legally separate “fanfic” centered on Gertie Fremont, the piece also functioned as a bundle of ideas about how he believed the Half-Life 2: Episode Two cliffhanger could have been resolved. Laidlaw later said he regretted releasing the story, largely because of the headaches it caused for his former coworkers—but players kept pushing anyway, trying to turn his rough, incomplete sketch into something playable.
That drive is one reason we’ve seen multiple ambitious modding attempts over the years. Project Borealis, for instance, aims to rebuild the “Source” feel of Half-Life 2 using Unreal Engine, effectively attempting a sequel-sized project from scratch. Other efforts—including Boreal-Alyph and Interlude—didn’t make it to completion. And then Alyx complicated the whole landscape by re-framing how Episode Two ends while also laying groundwork for its own follow-up; reports say that sequel is close to the finish line, with “HLX” leaks reportedly showing up in the Source 2 backend. Still, modders haven’t stopped.
Now there’s a smaller, more focused solo project that’s aiming to land later this year: All Good Things. Earlier this year, Jim Partridge explained in a blog post that he’d been watching teams try—and fail—to adapt Laidlaw’s writings into full games. He argued that many of these groups either take too long or fail outright because they rely on too many volunteers, a claim that runs counter to what many other teams have said in the past. Even so, Partridge’s point was that working without depending on others is the better route for actually shipping something, and he pointed to his own experience building multiple large-scale Half-Life and Left 4 Dead 2 campaigns.
Partridge also laid out his core philosophy for why he decided to jump into the Epistle 3 space. “You can have all the concept artists, model makers, composers, and script writers you like, but ultimately your project needs fun playable levels at its core,” he said. “I think that’s the reason ultimately I decided to throw my hat in the Epistle 3 ring. I know I can crank out a set of 12 or more levels that are fun to play and FEEL like Episode 2. Which in my opinion, is what people want.”
All Good Things Is Just One And A Half Maps Away From Completion
Six hours ago, Partridge followed up with another progress update. He reiterated that All Good Things is still targeting a late 2026 release window. Alongside that timeline, he shared screenshots showing work on an Aperture facility.
In his update, Partridge said the campaign is moving along steadily toward a first draft. He also claimed he’s now close enough that a final stretch of level content is essentially within reach—writing that he’s “now just a map and a half away from having a fully playable end to end experience which can be play tested to death.”
That approach contrasts with the scale of other Epistle 3-adjacent projects. Unlike Project Borealis and similarly ambitious conversions—or even Black Mesa, the long-running fan remake of Half-Life that took more than ten years—Partridge isn’t trying to recreate the feel of an entirely new official Valve release. One modder simply can’t cover that kind of territory, and the question becomes whether Epistle 3 truly needs that kind of scope.
The original Epistle 3 material wasn’t a finished script meant to match the production values of Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two. Instead, it reads like an outline produced by a writer working through frustration, reflecting his real-world experience rather than a complete, polished plan. From that angle, a mod like All Good Things may feel more faithful to what Epistle 3 is actually supposed to be: Laidlaw’s own framing positioned it closer to fanfic than to a fully formed sequel blueprint.
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In terms of spirit, All Good Things also feels more related to the earlier era of map packs that tried to bring parts of the Half-Life 2 beta to life, rather than the modern trend of volunteer teams attempting to build entire new games. That “small and shippable” attitude has a particular kind of appeal. It’ll be interesting to see how Epistle 3 ideas come to life in the Source engine—especially if it’s presented as though the years since 2007 didn’t really pass. And if nothing else, the stubborn momentum of a single developer may be the closest anyone has gotten to reaching the finish line.
