Valve has re-released the art book 'Raising the Bar,' which was originally published in Half-Life 2 nearly 20 years ago. It now includes new sections on all three HL2 episodes.

Half-Life 2: The Art of Development, a stunning art book covering the development of this legendary first-person shooter, will be released as part of Valve’s celebration of Half-Life 2’s 20th Anniversary.

Valve announced on the official 20th Anniversary webpage that Raising the Bar, which was first published in 2004, will be re-released with an expanded edition. This second edition will offer a comprehensive look at the creation of Half-Life 2. "Originally published in 2004 this book captured the story behind Half-Life 2's creation but missed the episodic material that followed.

This new edition concludes Half-Life 2's development story. It includes never-before-seen concepts from Episode One and Two, as well as ideas and experiments for a third episode that was never made.

I remember reading Raising the Bar in the past. I would read it for hours, bring it with me on road trips, and return to certain passages repeatedly in order to better understand this game that had captured the imagination of my youth.

There's also a section on Half-Life 1. I remember Chuck Jones' cartoony, lighter designs for the game. One of the coolest parts was a collection side-by-side pictures of the real-life face models Valve used for Half-Life 2 compared to their in-game equivalents. Raising the Bar is a book that has been a great source of information for the Half-Life 2 fan community. You've probably seen photos or snippets of it on the many wikis and forums about the game.

The new Raising the Bar will expand our knowledge about the Episodes' development in a big, exciting way. Valve hasn't yet revealed when the new Raising the Bar in 2025 will be released. Nor where we'll be able purchase it. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are available would make sense. But I wouldn't be shocked to see Valve offering it directly through Steam, similar to the Steam Deck.

Valve has released a two-hour documentary on the making of Half-Life 2 as well as footage that was thought to be lost from the earliest public demo.