Half-Life: A Place in the West Chapter 3 Launches July 21

We may be forever stuck in gaming limbo waiting for Half-Life 3, but at least we don't have to wait forever for the third chapter in the celebrated Half-Life comic: A Place in the West. Today it was announced that the third chapter of the acclaimed comic series is called The Pit, and it will debut on July 21. To celebrate the announcement a brand new trailer was released, which you can check out above.

A Place in the West started out as a fan series, but it took off and gained such a strong fan following that it was eventually picked up and officially licensed by Valve to use the Half-Life IP. Being one of the strongest and most recognizable IPs in the industry, you can imagine that Valve would not have done this if the comic was excellent. The story remains in complete creative control of the authors, however; Valve is in no way involved in the making or writing of A Place in the West. The first two chapters were released exclusively on Steam, where Chapter 3: The Pit will be releasing later this month for $1.99.

"The Pit is a culmination of everything we learned from the first two chapters," said writer and co-creator Ross Joseph Gardner. "At a total of 30 pages, the condensed narrative is sleeker, much more focused, and really aims to bring the city to life."

"Half-Life: A Place in the West is a licensed, fan-made comic book set within Valve's acclaimed Half-Life universe, in which Earth has fallen under the grip of the totalitarian Combine empire following a scientific experiment gone very wrong.

"As a group of military commandos sweep across the American wasteland kidnapping children, a troubled father, an intrepid young scientist, and an ancient alien warrior are drawn to the strange city from which the attackers sprung: New Franklin. Once inside, they discover a powerful secret - but the city holds many dangers, and deceptive temptations."

Have you already read the first two chapters? If you have, be sure to chime in on Facebook or Twitter to let us know what you think so farm and what you're looking forward to for the rest of the series.