Recently, rumors surrounding "Half-Life 3" have heated up again. Previously, at the end of 2025, there was speculation that Valve would officially announce the game. However, as November, the TGA Awards Ceremony, and the holidays came to an end, there was no official confirmation, causing some players to worry about whether the project would be delayed or even cancelled. At the same time, insiders pointed out that the project is still progressing, and relevant clues continue to appear in updates to Valve’s games.
According to well-known whistleblower Gabe Follower, "Half-Life 3" is currently under development under the internal code name HLX, and the progress has entered a critical stage. He said that the project no longer requires all developers to participate at the same time, and some members have begun to move to other work content. Relevant information recently discovered through data mining shows that the game may include gameplay and technical features such as a more realistic weapon ballistics system, NPC emotion and reaction mechanisms, crowd optimization, and dynamic gravity.
Gabe Follower also emphasized that HLX is just a development codename used internally by Valve. The name also appeared during the chapter content period of "Half-Life 2", so it does not mean that it is directly related to Xen. Tyler McVicker, another reporter and whistleblower who has been following Valve for a long time, also said that it is "somewhat possible" that "Half-Life 3" will be announced in 2026, but there is still a lack of official confirmation, and the relevant judgments only remain at the level of speculation.
In addition, there were concerns that Half-Life 3 would be affected by the potential delay of the Steam Machine. In this regard, Gabe Follower believes that this concern has limited relevance to the reality. He pointed out that the various teams within Valve operate relatively independently, and hardware projects and game development do not necessarily advance simultaneously. Past cases also show that there is no inevitable connection between the delays of the two.
As of now, Valve has yet to officially confirm the existence or release date of Half-Life 3. However, multiple sources and data mining information indicate that the project is still under development and may be approaching an advanced stage. Relevant progress remains to be further disclosed by the official.