After much waiting yesterday, I have some terrible news. On the 27th anniversary of Half-Life, Valve’s first game and a first-person shooter classic that served as the foundation for the company as we know it, Half-Life 3 was not confirmed.
But – and stay with me here – Half-Life 3 could still be happening.
You might be confused, and that’s understandable given the year thus far. But Half-Life 3, the sequel that Valve never really confirmed it was working on? Half-Life 3, which had rumors galore for the better part of a decade and then faded from existence? Half-Life 3, which many developers apparently tried to create at the studio, but it got shut down every single time.
Yes, that one – or maybe a different iteration than what was in development at Valve at some point. The point is, it’s probably happening for real this time. Hopefully.
This wouldn’t be the first time this year that rumors really started to gain traction, and ironically enough, it was also around Summer Game Fest and before Gamescom. A project internally codenamed HLX had made the rounds, and long-time insider Tyler McVicker claimed it was “playable end-to-end” (and that it was also Half-Life 3). In August, it was allegedly in the final phase of development, and this time, Gabe Follower – who provided details for Deadlock before its announcement – reported that it was in the polishing stage.
And then, for many weeks, as various events passed us by, there was relative silence. Until the end of October, when McVicker re-emerged to report on updates to the Source 2 Engine, and the addition of a new asset group called “Science.”
Things really started to kick into motion after Valve announced its Steam Hardware – namely the Steam Frame, Steam Machine and new Steam Controller. Gabe Follower stated that plans for HLX remained unchanged, and it would still be “aiming for a 2025 announcement.” McVicker would follow up with expectations of a Twitch stream within the next two weeks, which means sometime by November 31st.
At this point, you’re probably wondering if it’s actually happening. If there’s smoke, there’s Black Mesa suffering another interdimensional catastrophe that the military needs to contain, and all that jazz. We’ve seen this song and dance of rumors before. Next, I’ll be telling you about how Bloodborne Remastered is really happening.
But here’s where things take an odd turn. Mike Straw of Insider Gaming said a “big announcement” from Valve would be coming in the next few weeks (and that it’s not at The Game Awards). Tom Henderson, who has a strong track record as an insider, said, “I’ve heard there’s a big game coming out in March that I can’t say just yet. But a lot of people are looking forward to it. We’ll see in the next couple of weeks if we’re gonna talk about it.”
Straw would also say on X that, “It’s happening soon enough. Just be ready.” So why no announcement, even if there’s time to spare? Surely, something on Half-Life’s 27th anniversary would make sense, right? Surely, Gabe N. isn’t laughing at us on his new super-yacht?
That’s where NateTheHate, another reliable insider, comes in. After confirming that he’s heard about HLX/Half-Life 3, he revealed that there are “very mixed things” going on with the timing of the announcement. When asked if it would be on the anniversary or even the following day, he simply responded, “Unsure. One bit of info I was given suggested it would happen at noon today, which has come and gone. I’m not going to share anything until I have a consensus on specifics.” There are apparently a “lot of dates circulating,” and he won’t share more on anything until something, be it a release window or reveal, becomes clearer.
And if that wasn’t enough, Sean Hollister of The Verge reported seeing security guards at Valve’s HQ when invited to check out the Steam Hardware. “I’ve never seen guards during previous Valve trips — and maybe they were only there that day,” he said, before posting a picture of a Steam Machine with a custom front that had a logo with the letter “H” and a censored banner laid on top.
Like a Silksong fan roadmap before it was finally released, we’re currently here. So, is Half-Life 3 happening or not? Officially, no one can really say. Heck, for all we know, Valve could be getting ready to announce an open beta for Deadlock in the coming weeks, if not launching the same by The Game Awards.
And yet, it’s clear there’s something to these rumors. It would be one thing if it were the usual insiders sharing updates, but this time, others who cover the industry as a whole are reporting it as well. No one can ever be correct 100 percent of the time. But, smoke and fire, and whatnot.
Take this from someone who initially dismissed McVicker’s reports, but personally, I think it’s happening. Why? Because of the Steam Machine, and no, not because it will be an exclusive or anything. It’s because the hardware is essentially Valve’s strongest foray yet into the living room PC market. With Microsoft delving more into handheld PCs and a more unified ecosystem for its games, you can bet that Valve is looking to remind everyone what the dominant PC storefront is.
And what better way to do that than to release Half-Life 3, one of the most anticipated games and sequels of all time?
The other reason is that besides showing up the PS5 and Xbox Series X at their own game, in their own market, there truly are no other lands to conquer. Valve has done it all – created some of the most popular free-to-play titles in the world, cemented its legacy with some of the best games ever made, established a storefront that is the default, and even delivered a strong handheld PC while its competitors scrambled.
There are admittedly many other goals left and several other sequels that it could make, but Half-Life is a standout because its story is inherently unfinished. And if it had no intention of providing a follow-up, it likely wouldn’t have gone to lengths to retcon the ending of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 with the events of Half-Life: Alyx.
Yes, this is Valve we’re talking about – even if it isn’t a mainline title, who could have predicted that Half-Life: Alyx would be VR-exclusive? But such circumstances always go both ways. If it wanted to just announce Half-Life 3 as a PC exclusive and launch it several months later, just like it planned with Half-Life 2 (before it got delayed), then marketing cycles be damned – nothing can stop them.
Of course, until it’s actually announced, there’s nothing left to do but wait. Maybe such rumors will fall by the wayside yet again as we’re preoccupied with The Game Awards and its “World Premieres.” Perhaps everything will wind down in time for the holidays, and we’ll forget all the buzz around a possible Half-Life 3 or whatever HLX is supposed to be. And then when you least expect it, there will be an announcement and a release window because that’s just how Valve is.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
