'Half-Life 3 is real' claims dataminer as new VR game Alyx 2 also rumoured (2024)

After rumours reignited earlier this month, several dataminers have found more evidence to suggest Half-Life 3 exists.

For 17 years now, Half-Life 3 has been the go-to answer when it comes to unlikely dream game announcements, but this month has seen a resurgence in the Half-Life rumour mill.

The release of Half-Life: Alyx in 2020, which was exclusive to PC VR, made it clear the series is alive in some capacity at developer Valve. Half-Life 3 rumours since then have amounted to nothing, but the recent listing of a mysterious ‘Project White Sands’ on an actor’s CV provided the most compelling evidence yet that a third entry is in the works.

Notable insider and dataminer Gabe Follower, who is known for covering Valve, has now released a video to support additional claims of Half-Life 3’s existence.

Gabe Follower explained that Valve’s upcoming shooter Deadlock has given more credibility to previous Half-Life 3 rumours, making other project listings, like Project White Sands, more easy to tie to a potential Half-Life project.

‘Half-Life 3 is real and Valve are trying to hide that we’re going back to Xen,’ he posted on Twitter, with Xen being the alien world from the end of Half-Life 1.

In the 18-minute video, which collates three years of findings, Gabe Follower claims gravity will play a ‘much more important role’ in the next Half-Life game, which has the codename HLX in datamined files.

From his discoveries in files from other Valve titles, there are also references to Xen gorillas and other zombified creatures, a dynamic weather system, and a day and night cycle.

There’s also code related to new vehicle systems in HLX, which he speculates could mean the next Half-Life will be semi-open world, with ‘huge and realistic locations’.

HLX is described by Gabe The Follower as ‘most likely’ being a direct sequel to Half-Life: Alyx, although it’s unclear whether this means it will be another VR-orientated title or not.

Shortly after this video, fellow Valve YouTuber Tyler McVicker posted a video where he suggested two Half-Life games could be in development – the aforementioned HLX, which he claims is not a VR title, and another Half-Life game designed to showcase Valve’s rumoured new VR headset, codenamed Deckard.

Based on his findings, McVicker claims the team behind Half-Life: Alyx is ‘deep in Half-Life development right now’ – although it’s unclear whether he means on one of these projects, or both.

He further claims Valve’s Deckard headset is ‘still very much in production’, adding: ‘A game being in development to showcase the features of the Deckard, in the same way that Half-Life: Alyx best showcased the features of the Valve Index, is going to happen if the Deckard is set to be still released.’

Valve has not officially announced any new Half-Life project, or even a new VR headset, so it’s worth taking these rumours with a pinch of salt. However, it’s the strongest evidence yet that something Half-Life related, possibly Half-Life 3, is actually in the pipeline.

These rumours have put more weight on Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary, which takes place on November 16, 2024. While Valve is almost as difficult to predict as Nintendo, especially considering how few games it actually releases these days, there’s a chance Valve could, at the very least, do something to mark the occasion.

For now, Valve’s priority will likely be its upcoming shooter Deadlock, which the developer recently just acknowledged on Steam after a wave of leaks.

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