Speculation surrounding a potential new Half-Life title has been reignited after a Valve developer appeared to accidentally reference the project's codename, 'HLX', during a public livestreamed Q&A session. The incident occurred during a GameSoundCon panel featuring Valve music designer Mike Morasky.
Morasky was discussing audio work on various Valve projects when he stated, "Deadlock has their own version of HDR, HLX has its own version, and so on and so forth." He then appeared to trail off, as if realizing his slip-up, while sound designer David Feise was heard to remark, "nice work," which some observers interpreted as sarcastic.
This accidental mention from Morasky suggests that HLX is an active, standalone project requiring original music. The incident follows a period of heightened Half-Life 3-related rumors in the past year. In 2021, dataminers began uncovering references to the 'HLX' codename in Valve files, leading to widespread speculation that the company was reviving its dormant first-person shooter franchise.
Further fueling these rumors, Valve insider Tyler McVicker shared datamined findings in 2024 that he claimed indicated a new, "fully-fledged Half-Life game." Around the same time, a leak from an actor purportedly involved in the project also surfaced. McVicker later released a video suggesting that this rumored Half-Life 3 was playable from beginning to end and could potentially release before the end of 2024. Fans also attempted to pinpoint a possible announcement window, suggesting November or December of last year, though these predictions did not materialize.
Despite the lack of an official announcement and the subsequent dampening of immediate hype, Morasky's recent comment indicates that development on HLX, whatever its final form may be, continues. The original Half-Life 2: Episode 2 was released 19 years ago, leaving a significant gap in the series that fans continue to anticipate filling.