Valve publicly mentions HLX, which might be Half-Life 3, for the first time

Crystal ball: Hype surrounding the possibility that Valve was putting the finishing touches on Half-Life 3 reached a fever pitch last year before fading. A fresh batch of data-mining results and comments from Valve this week has reignited anticipation, however. While it remains unclear what precisely the company is working on, it appears to be completely unlike its current stable of live-service games.

Valve hasn't offered substantial details about a new Half-Life project since launching Half-Life: Alyx in 2020, but a quick name-drop has revived debate over whether Half-Life 3 is in advanced development. Code recently added to Deadlock and other Valve games also sheds more light on the game's features, if it indeed exists.

The codename HLX has appeared in the company's code since early 2024, but Valve did not mention it publicly until a Q&A session at GameSoundCon 2026 on Wednesday. Composer and sound designer Mike Morasky confirmed that Deadlock and HLX each have custom HDR implementations.

Fellow sound designer David Feise, seated next to him, could be heard whispering "nice work," and later quipped that Morasky had only said HLX once, suggesting the mention wasn't meant to be public. This isn't the first time Morasky has referenced future Half-Life projects.

Then, on Thursday, well-known Valve data miner Tyler McVicker released his latest video describing how recent Source 2 engine updates for Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Deadlock might relate to HLX.

Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Deadlock are multiplayer games, but several reports from McVicker last year outlined portions of code mentioning systems typically associated with single-player shooters, such as AI-controlled enemies and concepts from prior Half-Life games.

Other features that seem unique to HLX include procedural level alteration, ray tracing, and AMD FSR support. In this week's video, McVicker also described features related to the Combine gunship and other enemies, as well as dynamic rain audio and new cut-scene animation technology.

The data miner has also been tracking Valve's commit rate, which spiked after the recent Source 2 updates. While some observers might suspect AI coding tools are behind the uptick, prior reports lead McVicker to believe the company has been using AI tools since at least 2024. The nature and extent of AI use within Valve remains unclear, but it's possible that HLX or something else is behind the increased activity.