Half-Life 3 is never going to happen, right? Let’s be clear. A Valve composer said “HLX” on stage last week, and the speculation is everywhere again, but I don’t think it’s coming out, and I don’t think it needs to.
The name came from Mike Morasky, Valve’s composer and audio artist, during a GameSoundCon panel on Valve’s audio engine in Burbank, California (PC Gamer). He listed HLX next to Deadlock while answering a technical question, and his co-panelist, David Feise, turned to him and whispered “nice work”.
What did Valve actually say about HLX?
Nothing, officially. HLX was said once, out loud, in the middle of an answer about audio, and Valve hasn’t commented on it since. Nobody at the panel said what HLX is, what it runs on or when it might come out. Fans read it as the codename for Half-Life 3 (PlayStation Universe).
That’s all there is so far: one mention of HLX by someone who works at Valve, at an audio conference. There hasn’t been a new mainline Half-Life since Half-Life 2: Episode Two in 2007, which is why one word was enough.
Where did the name HLX come from?
HLX isn’t new. It first turned up in early 2024 in a data string inside a Counter-Strike 2 update, which looked a lot like HLVR, Valve’s codename for Half-Life: Alyx (PC Gamer). Morasky also came close to saying it in 2025, catching himself and switching to “Alyx” halfway through the word.
This time he said it in full. He was explaining how Valve’s audio engine handles HDR, the system that decides which sounds play when there are too many at once. “Deadlock has their own version of HDR,” he said, and he listed HLX next to it.
Is Half-Life 3 actually coming this time?
Nope. I never think it’s coming out. I don’t think it will, and I don’t think it needs to. I don’t even know if it would fit how people play now, if I’m honest. If they do release it, it’s going to have to conform to what story games are now, and I don’t think that’s what Half-Life 2, or Half-Life, even was.
Valve has been here before. After Half-Life 2: Episode Two in 2007, it struggled to settle on a direction for the next game. It worked on a Half-Life 3 between 2013 and 2014, experimenting with procedurally generated levels, and cancelled it while its Source 2 engine was still unfinished (Wikipedia).
I don’t even know if Half-Life 3 would make sense anymore. Like, I don’t know if games are still what Half-Life wants. Half-Life 2 came out in November 2004, and I played it. The way people play story games has changed a lot since then.
What about Half-Life: Alyx?
The last time this all came up was when Half-Life: Alyx came out, and Alyx was VR, which did slap, by the way. But it was a game made for the ivory tower. Not many people had VR that could run it, so it was very bold of Valve to release it in the first place.
Alyx came out on 23 March 2020, and on Steam it’s still VR only, at $59.99 (Steam). That was during the pandemic, so Valve released something on VR when a lot of people weren’t working. VR is more accessible now, but it wasn’t when Alyx came out.
I watched someone else play Alyx rather than playing it myself, because, like I said, it’s the ivory tower of VR. Alyx is the only new Half-Life game since Episode Two, and not many people had VR that could play it.
Would I buy Half-Life 3 day one?
Yeah, if it came out, I’d buy it. I’d love it to be a callback, and I think it would be nostalgic. I just don’t know if it would be good for me.
So if HLX does turn out to be Half-Life 3, I’ll buy it on day one. I still don’t think it’s coming out, though, and I don’t think it needs to.
The Half-Life games so far
| Game | Released |
|---|---|
| Half-Life | 19 November 1998 |
| Half-Life 2 | 16 November 2004 |
| Half-Life 2: Episode One | 1 June 2006 |
| Half-Life 2: Episode Two | 10 October 2007 |
| Half-Life: Alyx | 23 March 2020, VR only |
| Half-Life 3 | Not announced |
That’s two main games, two episodes and one VR game, with nothing but Alyx in the 19 years since Episode Two. Release dates are from each game’s Steam page. Whatever HLX turns out to be, Valve hasn’t said a word about it yet.
FAQ
Is Half-Life 3 confirmed? No. Valve hasn’t announced it. A Valve composer said “HLX” once on a GameSoundCon panel, and Valve hasn’t commented since.
What is HLX? A Valve project name Mike Morasky listed next to Deadlock while talking about audio. Fans believe it’s Half-Life 3; Valve hasn’t said.
Is Half-Life: Alyx VR only? Yes. On Steam, Half-Life: Alyx is VR only and costs $59.99.
