Summary
Over the last few years, dataminers have uncovered a string of references to “HLX”, which is believed to beHalf-Life 3. Valve concept artist Evgeniy Evstratiy might have just confirmed that theory.
Evstratiyhas worked at Valve since February 2023, and is still employed at the studio.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this or not,” Evstratiy said onthe CG Voices Podcast(as translated by reliable leakeru/Stannis_Loyaliston r/HalfLife), “but I was in the room where they made Half-Life 3. However, I didn’t see the actual development itself; I just saw the office, the computers, the whiteboards.”
This is the closest we’ve come to confirmation from Valve itself, but it’s still worth taking Evstratiy’s comment with a grain of salt. He’s a concept artist for a different Valve game and was only briefly in a room where an unknown project was being worked on, which hebelievedto be Half-Life 3.
It’s unclear if he spoke to anyone on the project to get confirmation, though, as u/kultur noted, if he’s confidently saying that he was in the room where they made Half-Life 3, it’s likely that he did.
Half-Life 3 Might Exist, But It Could Be Cancelled
As Evstratiy pointed out, this isn’t Valve’s first attempt at Half-Life 3. Several iterations of the game,as well as Half-Life 2: Episode Three, have been cancelled, so there’s no guarantee that the studio will release or even finish HLX, given its track record and strict quality control.
But it’s also worth noting that, as far as we know, no iteration of Half-Life 3 has ever made it this far along in development (recent Deadlock and Dota 2 updates hint that it’s in the polishing phase). Coupled withG-Man and Barney Calhoun actor Mike Shapiro teasing “unexpected surprises” for 2025with the hashtag “HalfLife”, and, if reports are to be believed, that it survived the last round of playtests (which historically led toHalf-Life: AlyxandDeadlockbeing delayed), things are looking up for HLX.
Shapiro likely made that video because Valve is confident that the game will release without cancellation — u/Stannis_Loyalist.
If it does make it through development, then we have a pretty good idea of what to expect thanks to another reliable leaker, Gabe Follower, who claims thatit will “be the end of Gordon’s adventure”, finally tying the knot on the trilogy without another cliffhanger.
Time will tell if he’s right and if all these leaks are actually leading somewhere for once, but personally, I’m not sure I’ll believe Half-Life 3 exists until it’s sitting in my library.
