We already got half life 3. It was called half life alyx specifically to get away from the massive pressure that came with the meme.
Its also important to know valves strength is that they don’t need to pump out games, they make profit enough though steam. This makes sure they can put time in exploring new concepts and innovation and only release games that maintain the perception of excellence, which they could lose fast if they released a “mid” tier game.
Definitely AI. But does that automatically make it slop?
I find its dishonest not to label it as ai but as content value its not much different then a lisa presentation meme.