Half-Life 3Explainer
Release date
Half-Life 3 release date: not announced, 19 years after Episode Two's cliffhanger
Valve hasn't announced Half-Life 3, so there's no release date, platform or price. As of Oct. 15, 2026, Steam has no store page for it. The last chapter of Gordon Freeman's story, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, came out on Oct. 10, 2007, and ended on a cliffhanger that Valve never followed with a third episode. Valve's most recent Half-Life game is Half-Life: Alyx, a VR game released on March 23, 2020, which now comes in the box with Valve's Steam Frame headset.
Valve hasn’t announced Half-Life 3. There’s no trailer, no Steam page, no release date and no price. Gordon Freeman’s story has been on hold since Half-Life 2: Episode Two came out on Oct. 10, 2007, which makes the wait 19 years this month.
Valve hasn’t left the series alone, though. Its most recent Half-Life game, the VR game Half-Life: Alyx, came out on March 23, 2020, and it now ships in the box with Valve’s newest headset, the Steam Frame.
Has Valve announced Half-Life 3?
No. As of Oct. 15, 2026, Valve hasn’t confirmed a game called Half-Life 3, and a search on Steam turns up no store page for it. Valve hasn’t given a release year, a window, platforms or a price.
The last time Valve put a new Half-Life game on sale was Half-Life: Alyx, more than six years ago. Since then, its biggest releases have been hardware. The new Steam Controller launched on May 4, 2026, the Steam Machine on June 22 and the Steam Frame on Sept. 14. None of those launches came with a new Half-Life.
Where the Half-Life story stopped
The main series follows Gordon Freeman. Half-Life came out on Nov. 19, 1998, and Half-Life 2 followed on Nov. 16, 2004, set in the occupied City 17. Valve then continued the story in shorter chapters: Episode One on June 1, 2006, and Episode Two on Oct. 10, 2007.
Episode Two ends on a cliffhanger, just as Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance are about to set off for the Borealis, a lost research ship. A third episode was supposed to pick up from there. It never came out.
Valve itself has talked about that missing chapter. For the Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update on Nov. 15, 2024, Valve said a new edition of its book about the making of Half-Life 2 would include ideas and experiments for the third episode, which it described as never made. The same update put Episode One and Episode Two inside Half-Life 2, added about 3.5 hours of new developer commentary and came with a documentary about the making of the game.
Half-Life: Alyx and the Steam Frame
Half-Life: Alyx is the closest thing to a new chapter so far. It’s a VR-only game set between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and you play as Alyx Vance in City 17. It costs $59.99 on Steam. Without spoiling it, its ending ties directly into the end of Episode Two.
Valve keeps working on it. On Sept. 14, 2026, the day the Steam Frame launched, Valve released what it called a major update that lets Half-Life: Alyx run on the headset itself, without a PC. Valve rebuilt the game for the Frame’s ARM chip and added foveated rendering, which draws the spot you’re looking at in the most detail, along with smoother play at lower frame rates. Every Steam Frame comes with a copy of the game.
What fans have found: HLX
For years, fans digging through files from Valve’s games and developer tools have reported references to a project called HLX, which they read as a new Half-Life game. Valve hasn’t confirmed HLX, what it is or when, if ever, it might be announced.
Until Valve says something, any Half-Life 3 date you see online is a guess. Valve usually reveals its games on its own channels and its own schedule, as it did when it revealed Half-Life: Alyx with a trailer on Nov. 21, 2019, about four months before release.
How to play the Half-Life games now
Everything that’s out runs on PC through Steam. Half-Life costs $9.99. Half-Life 2 also costs $9.99, and since the anniversary update it includes Episode One and Episode Two, so one purchase covers the whole Gordon Freeman story so far.
Half-Life: Alyx costs $59.99 and needs a PC VR headset or a Steam Frame, which includes the game. If you’re catching up before any new announcement, playing in release order ends with Alyx, the most recent part of the story.
This page is updated as soon as Valve announces Half-Life 3, a release date or a new Half-Life game.
Official images
2
FAQ
Is Half-Life 3 confirmed?
No. As of Oct. 15, 2026, Valve hasn’t announced Half-Life 3. There’s no trailer, no Steam store page, no release date and no price.
When does Half-Life 3 come out?
Valve hasn’t announced a release date or a release window, because it hasn’t announced the game at all.
Is Half-Life 3 coming out in 2026?
Valve hasn’t announced any Half-Life game for 2026. Its big launches this year have been hardware: the Steam Controller on May 4, the Steam Machine on June 22 and the Steam Frame VR headset on Sept. 14.
Is Half-Life: Alyx the same as Half-Life 3?
No. Half-Life: Alyx is a VR game set between the first Half-Life and Half-Life 2, starring Alyx Vance. It came out on March 23, 2020, and costs $59.99 on Steam. Its ending ties directly into the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two.
What is HLX?
It’s a name that fans digging through files from Valve’s games and tools say points to an unannounced Half-Life project. Valve hasn’t confirmed HLX, what it is or whether it’s a game at all.
Will Half-Life 3 be a VR game?
Valve hasn’t said, because it hasn’t announced the game. Its last Half-Life game, Half-Life: Alyx, works only in VR, and since Sept. 14, 2026, it runs on the Steam Frame headset on its own, without a PC.
Where did Half-Life 2: Episode Two leave the story?
On a cliffhanger, just as Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance were about to set off for the Borealis, a lost research ship. Valve never released the third episode that was supposed to continue it.
How can I play the Half-Life games now?
On Steam. Half-Life costs $9.99, and Half-Life 2 costs $9.99 with Episode One and Episode Two included since Nov. 15, 2024. Half-Life: Alyx costs $59.99, needs a VR headset and comes free with the Steam Frame.
Pop quiz
2 questions from this story.
When did Half-Life 2: Episode Two come out?
Episode Two came out on Oct. 10, 2007. Half-Life 2 launched in November 2004, and Half-Life: Alyx in March 2020.
Who is the main character of Half-Life: Alyx?
You play as Alyx Vance, in a story set between Half-Life and Half-Life 2.
Your call
When do you think Valve will announce Half-Life 3?
