Half-Life fans could be in for another treat if the latest rumor is to be believed, as it’s now suspected that Valve might release the third game this year. Valve has been relatively silent when it comes to its Half-Life franchise. For the most part, word of mouth among fans and insiders does most of the work in keeping the fires of interest stoked, and one such insider is making bold claims: Tyler McVicker (aka Valve News Network) has said that he expects Half-Life 3 to launch this year.
Among some of the details that Tyler has repeated from an earlier podcast is that the game is currently codenamed HLX, but it is now playable from start to finish. He adds that, unlike when Half-Life Alyx was this far in its development cycle, not many story details are leaking out, yet. Tyler has countered this point by saying that HLX is “being play tested so rigorously and so widely that there are individuals that will just talk,” and it has a large playtest group who are currently work with the devs on optimizations and polishing, but he does not want to know the plot right now. It’s also said that his trusted sources have stated that, unlike Alyx, this game will not be a VR title.
Per Tyler McVicker (via YouTube transcript):
“. . and I personally have a policy of avoiding story-related questions and information wherever possible, so I currently have avoided all of them, but I’ve been offered it by people whom are trustworthy, and I know that some of my contemporaries have been given it.”
That being said, it’s probable there will be story leaks forthcoming, one such was already made in March that Half-Life 3 could be the end of the road for Gordon Freeman’s now 27-year adventure, and this game will not end on a cliffhanger. A final claim is that Valve could announce the game this summer, with a potential winter release date in the works. Even though these are rumors, the bits of information tend to align with many that have been coming out somewhat steadily over the last few years.
Valve product designer Greg Coomer already said in 2022 that a large group of people were working on new games and indicated that Alyx was a sign that Valve was interested in telling other stories in the Half-Life universe. There’ve also been easter eggs in various games featuring items from either Half-Life or Portal, giving fuel to other rumors that the upcoming game might include some sort of crossover as well. Both of these games have also received the RTX makeover treatment as well which could be another sign that Valve is prepping its franchises for soon-to-be-released new installments.
So, prepare to suit up one last time and perhaps replay the original, which received a 25th anniversary edition featuring updated graphics settings, controller support, and other QoL improvements, and then move on to the recently released Half-Life 2 RTX demo.