Summary
- Valve has reportedly been playtesting HLX for the last few months.
- These playtests now involve family and friends, not just other dev teams.
- Similar playtests were held for Deadlock and Alyx, leading to changes in the art style and script respectively.
According to reputable leaker and dataminer Gabe Follower, Valve has been conducting playtests for “HLX” (believed to be Half-Life 3) over the last few months.
What’s especially interesting about this development is that similar playtests were held for the MOBA/hero shooter hybrid Deadlock, which led to its art style being “completely reworked twice over two years”, and for Half-Life: Alyx, which was delayed into 2020 for rewrites as a result.
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These rewrites even led Jay Pinkerton and Erik Wolpaw to return to the company after leaving in 2017. It’s speculated that they are also writing for HLX as they recently confirmed they are not involved in the worldbuilding or story of Deadlock.
Their latest project was the new Team Fortress 2 comic, finally concluding the story after seven years.
There have been several Half-Life 3 leaks throughout 2024, from Uncharted-inspired level design to vastly improved physics, a grenade launcher, destructible NPCs, new fire mechanics, and an upgradeable HEV suit — just to name a few highlights.
It appears to be quite far along in development, and Gabe Follower suggests that it could be announced as soon as next year.
Half-Life 3 Could Be Announced In 2025
“It’s quite an important stage for the project,” Gabe Follower explained. “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.”
As with any Valve leak — Half-Life especially — it’s worth taking all of this with a grain of salt. The game has not been officially revealed, and several spin-offs and iterations of Half-Life 2: Episode Three and Half-Life 3 have been cancelled before ever being unveiled to the public. Until Valve itself says otherwise, it’s not a certainty.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Valve said after the release of Alyx, “We’re not afraid of Half-Life no more”, and the ending of the VR spin-off even set up a sequel when Gordon Freeman took back his crowbar. Combined with the steady stream of leaks and the recent playtests, it looks more and more likely with each passing month. Hopefully, we’ll find out next year.
