More fuel is added to the rumors that Valve is actively working on Half-Life 3 after recent leaks shared by a renowned industry insider.
Leaks Suggest Half-Life 3 Is Playtested Now
One of the biggest memes in the gaming community as a whole is Valve not being able to count to three. This is because the company never seems to produce a third installation of any of its mainline titles. Sure, we have Portal 2, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life 2, but that’s it. However, this may soon change as new leaks suggest there will be a Half-Life 3 announced sometime in 2025.
According to reputable leaker and dataminer Gabe Follower, Valve has been conducting playtests for “HLX” during the last several months. Many, including the leaker himself, think that the acronym stands for Half-Life 3.
Source: Valve started playtesting the new Half-Life 3 game with a small group of friends and family.
— Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) December 28, 2024
Watch it here – https://t.co/2lpKw4nfuP pic.twitter.com/77P5bMnRLD
Rumors of Half-Life 3 being in development have circulated throughout 2024 and it seems now more fuel is added to the fire. The news that the game is allegedly playtested now aligns with the development of previous Valve games, such as Half-Life: Alyx. That spin-off title was delayed into 2020 for rewrites, which even led to Jay Pinkerton and Erik Wolpaw’s return to the company after leaving in 2017. It’s speculated both are writing for HFX because they recently confirmed they are not involved in the worldbuilding or story of Deadlock (Valve’s MOBA/hero shooter hybrid that is currently in development.
Will Half-Life 3 be announced in 2025?
According to Gabe Follower, the game is quite far along in development and it may even be officially announced sometime this year. “If it survives the New Year holiday and there are no serious problems during the playtests then the development will continue at the right pace, and the announcement in 2025 might turn out to be quite possible,” the leaker said.
Of course, despite Gabe Follower’s good reputation, we should take the information with a grain of salt. In the past, several spin-offs and iterations of Half-Life 2: Episode Three and Half-Life 3 have been canceled before ever being unveiled to the public. In addition, HLX could be another spin-off like Half-Life: Alyx.
But in the past, Valve themselves have suggested that they would like to develop the franchise further, so a HL3 is not out of the question. “We’re not afraid of Half-Life no more,” the company said after the release of Alyx. In addition, the game’s ending set up a sequel when Gordon Freeman took back his crowbar.
Ultimately, fans will just have to wait and see if Valve finally announces the coveted Half-Life 3 sometime in 2025.
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