When people online talk about game studios that they adore, they often bring up Valve. This is because of how much love and character they put into all of their games, and for them being great games all around. They are known for having the largest and most known game store for PC and their very own big three: Half-Life, Team Fortress, and the Portal series.

The first game of the Portal series came out in 2007 and instantly got a following and fan base, not just because of how great and fun the game itself was, but also because of the game’s compelling story and witty humor.

With all of these factors, Portal quickly got mainstream attention leading to many memes that were funny at the time, and still technically funny now because they so are oversaturated and outdated that the humor has gone full-circle.

Even if you ignore that part of the fandom, there are still the theorists who want to know more about the games lore. The game maintained popularity throughout three years before the announcement for the second game, Portal 2, that would be released in 2011. The second game looked beyond promising and fans could not wait for it. The announcement, as well as other trailers made to promote the game and its features, led to more people finding out about the game, myself included!

This was also when “Let’s Play” games were semi-mainstream so people could, in some ways, experience games without even playing them. When people saw the gameplay, humor, and story of Portal 2, they wanted to experience it as well.

Making the game get even more popular was an increase of popularity of the Valve parent company. This popularity is still very much alive today, although not to the degree it was a decade ago. Still, some fans want Valve to make a Portal 3, but most of them are satisfied with the second game’s conclusions and are willing to accept that there many never be a third installment of any kind in the abbreviated series.