Half-Life 3 speculation reignites after Valve developer mentions secret project
A Valve developer has reignited speculation about Half-Life 3 after unexpectedly mentioning a mysterious project during a public presentation.
The long-awaited sequel remains one of gaming’s biggest unanswered questions, with fans having spent nearly 19 years waiting for a continuation of Gordon Freeman’s story following Half-Life 2: Episode Two.
Now, though, a brief exchange between two Valve employees has provided another reason to believe something could be happening behind the scenes.
Valve developer mentions HLX during GameSoundCon panel
The Half-Life 3 speculation began when Valve music designer Mike Morasky was speaking at GameSoundCon 2026 in California during a panel examining the company’s approach to video game audio.
Whilst discussing how its games handle HDR audio, Morasky unexpectedly referenced HLX, the codename widely believed to be associated with an unannounced Half-Life project.
As shown in recordings of the event, like in an X (formerly Twitter) post shared by influencer Tyler "Hype Merchant" McVicker, Morasky said: “Deadlock has their own version of HDR, HLX has its own version, and so on and so forth.”
With the slight hesitation in his voice at the end of the clip, it seemed like the Valve dev knew immediately his remake might get the attention of Half-Life 3 rumour followers.
That appeared to be the case with his colleague, at least; according to PC Gamer, fellow Valve developer David Feise leaned towards Morasky and whispered something along the lines of ‘nice work’ or ‘nice one’, potentially acknowledging that any early mention of HLX — or Half-Life 3 in this case — would definitely be off-limits.
That’s especially since at the end of the presentation, Feise reportedly told him: “Good job, you only said HLX once.”
Morasky responded: “I DID?”
HLX has surfaced repeatedly in datamined Valve files, including references linked to Counter-Strike 2 and Deadlock. However, this appears to be the first time a Valve employee has explicitly mentioned the name in public.
McVicker previously claimed, as reported by Video Games Chronicle, that the project was playable from start to finish and was undergoing further polishing. Still, neither the project's identity nor those development claims have been officially confirmed to this day.
Why has Half-Life 3 taken so long?
The incredibly long wait for the third Half-Life stretches back to 2007, when Half-Life 2: Episode Two ended without resolving Gordon Freeman’s story. Valve subsequently abandoned its planned third episode, whilst, as Eurogamer reminded us, another attempt at a sequel was reportedly shelved amid difficulties with the unfinished Source 2 engine.
In a documentary released for Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary in 2024, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell explained that continuing the story alone was not enough justification for making another game.
When acknowledging Half-Life 3, he said: “We could've shipped it…It wouldn't have been that hard… My personal failure was being stumped. I couldn't figure out why doing Episode 3 was pushing anything forward.”
Valve eventually returned to the franchise with 2020’s VR-exclusive Half-Life: Alyx, but news of a traditional follow-up will continue to be absent until we at least hear more about HLX, it seems.