Valve's recent expansion of Counter Strike: Global Offensive with its new battle royale-inspired, Danger Zone, mode and free to play sales model, has also hinted at a potential return of Valve's Portal franchise. Hidden within a bank of computers within the Danger Zone map there seems to be a joke, of sorts, about Portal, and fans are hoping it means we could see an expansion of that franchise too.
Portal is one of Valve's most popular and enduring game series. With just two games to its name, Portal has a detailed game universe that expands on previous Half Life stories while blazing its own path with passive puzzle solving and basic survival elements, with a great sense of humor, voice acting, and a beautiful — albeit limited — world to explore.
But it's been nearly eight years since the last Portal game, so the idea of more in that universe has fans excited.
In the Danger Zone map, Black Site, there's a motel of sorts and room three is boarded up. While that may be a Half Life 3 joke, there is actually a secret entrance to the room and there are a number of computers in there. If you stand near those computers, there's a sequence of tones and a voice saying numbers and letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet, as YouTuber Snaileny explans.
When decrypted, that message reads: "This was a triumph, I'm making a note here: Huge Success." A classic line from Portal's cake song. Just a joke that Valve's new Battle Royale mode is a huge success? Or is it a suggestion that Valve is working on Portal again?
Other hints include surveillance cameras on the map which all point to a sunken ship -- a hint of the Borealis from Portal 2 and Half life 2: Episode 2, perhaps?
What do you guys think?