The Valve Neon Prime announcement marks a new age for the iconic Half-Life and Portal developers, immediately prompting fan theories about what type of game the mysterious trademark could eventually become. Known for their action RPG games and classic MOBA, Dota 2, a new leak implies that we should be expecting something more akin to the latter.
Valve leaker Tyler McVicker dropped a cheeky hint about Neon Prime (the mysterious new Valve trademark) on October 26.
“Valve Software’s indev game, Neon Prime, is likely a Dota-adjacent Sci-Fi game, made by Icefrog, taking place in other dimensions, such as the Continuum or the Moons of Ultoria. It is likely not an FPS, and obviously, unrelated to Half-Life: Citadel, Valve’s other indev game.”
For avid fans of Valve’s cult classic IPs, the announcement is both a blessing and a curse. While for Dota fans it would be exciting to learn more about the mysterious Continuum or traverse the barren lunar landscapes of Ultoria’s moons, it seems like a lot of people were hoping for anything but Dota.
“Tbh constant Dota stuff wouldn’t be so annoying if they weren’t breaking or leaving their other games and IPs to collect dust,” writes one, while another comments “more Dota,” with a GIF of a man sleeping.
On the flip side, one response reads, “whilst I don’t like Dota, it’s not because of the gameplay, just because I don’t find the IP particularly interesting. A sci-fi take on the genre could be cool.”
It’s no secret that Dota 2 has been struggling recently, with TI11 providing yet more evidence that the game is slowly dwindling in popularity. With a smaller prize pool than previous years and declining viewer stats that some attribute to Valve’s alleged lack of planning, Dota does need something new – maybe even Dota 3.
On the other hand, though, there are a whole lot of amazing Valve franchises that could also use a fresh lick of paint. Half Life, Portal, CS:GO, and many more have fallen by the wayside, and still have passionate fanbases that are champing at the bit for something new.
While we wait to see what creeps out of the shadows regarding Neon Prime, be sure to check out our list of the best FPS games – Half Life 2 is there, don’t worry. For those more Dota inclined, we have a breakdown of all of the best Dota 2 heroes, too.