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Half-Life 3: 19 years after Episode Two, no Steam page, but HLX keeps turning up in code. Everything we know
Valve has not announced Half-Life 3, and Steam has no page for it. Here is what Valve has said on the record, what dataminers keep finding under the HLX codename, which rumored reveals came and went and what to watch next.
Nineteen years is a long time to wait at the edge of a cliff. Half-Life 2: Episode Two came out on Oct. 10, 2007, and left Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance about to set off for the Borealis, a lost research ship. The episode meant to follow never shipped. As of Oct. 16, 2026, Valve has not announced Half-Life 3, and Steam has no store page, no date and no price.
What exists is a codename. Since February 2024, dataminers have found a project called HLX in Valve’s game code, and many read it as a new Half-Life. Rumored reveals in 2024 and 2025 and a spring 2026 launch with Steam Machine all came and went. Valve’s Steam Frame headset launched on Sept. 14 with Half-Life: Alyx in the box, and in July a long-time dataminer said a 2026 reveal is no longer a safe bet.
Where the story stopped
Half-Life came out on Nov. 19, 1998, and Half-Life 2 followed on Nov. 16, 2004, set in the occupied City 17. Episode One arrived in 2006 and Episode Two, which Steam still calls “the second in a trilogy,” in 2007. The trilogy stopped at two.
Valve now says so plainly. Its Half-Life 2 anniversary update on Nov. 15, 2024, folded both episodes into Half-Life 2, and Valve said a new edition of its making-of book would show ideas for “the third episode that never came to be.” In the anniversary documentary, Valve president Gabe Newell took the blame: Valve “could’ve shipped” Episode 3, but “I couldn’t figure out why doing Episode 3 was pushing anything forward.”
Alyx: a return, not an ending
On Nov. 21, 2019, Valve revealed Half-Life: Alyx, a VR game set between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, with a trailer and pre-purchases. Asked that day whether more Half-Life would follow, Valve programmer David Speyrer said: “Yes.” The game came out on March 23, 2020, at $59.99, works only in VR, and its ending ties directly into the end of Episode Two.
“We absolutely see Half-Life: Alyx as our return to this world, not the end of it,” Valve’s Robin Walker said that month. Newell set a high bar: “Half-Life games are supposed to solve interesting problems.” In the 2024 documentary Newell called the series “a tool we have and promises made to customers to capitalize on innovation,” but named no game.
Three letters in the code
On Feb. 7, 2024, a dataminer spotted “hlx_2d_basic” in Counter-Strike 2’s code. Half-Life: Alyx had been HLVR inside Valve, so HLX read like the internal name of a new Half-Life.
The references kept coming in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and Deadlock, all Source 2 games. New HLX settings in a February 2026 Deadlock update were “just another confirmation that HLX survived Valve’s winter break,” the dataminer who spotted them said. In December 2025 a long-time Valve dataminer said HLX is not a game title but a generic codename for future Half-Life work. Asked about HLX this July, a retiring Valve programmer replied: “I think you know the answer to that,” which some read as a polite no comment. Valve has never said what HLX is.
What the leaks hint at
If the dataminers are right, HLX is not a VR game. Since August 2024 a long-time Valve dataminer has described a single-player, flat-screen game with the player in an HEV suit, the armor Gordon Freeman wears, and in April 2025 repeated: “Half-Life 3 is not a VR title.”
A dataminer’s November 2024 code reading pointed to HLX tech for dynamic weather, dismemberment, altered gravity, fire that spreads across a level and NPCs that react to the fight. Dataminers then found HLX code in May 2025 updates for a save system that can store the state of any object, and in an August 2025 Counter-Strike 2 update for physics-based damage reactions, gun ballistics and documentation that may point to mod support. A voice actor’s website listed a Valve game called “Project White Sands,” then removed it. Fans tied the name to HLX, since White Sands is in New Mexico, home of the fictional Black Mesa. Valve has explained none of these finds.
Playtests, a delay and a whole floor
The boldest claims are secondhand, passed on by dataminers. In December 2024 one said Valve had started HLX playtests with other Valve teams and friends and family, the step it took before Deadlock and Alyx. In April 2025 a long-time Valve dataminer called HLX “playable end-to-end” and floated a summer 2025 reveal, calling it guesswork. That reveal never came. In May 2025 a dataminer warned that people “might not like” the story.
This summer the tone changed. In June 2026 a Valve dataminer said Valve had delayed HLX to give the team more time, and in July a long-time dataminer added that the game did not feel good enough yet and that the project reportedly fills a whole floor of Valve’s office. These claims are still holding. Valve has confirmed no test, no delay and no game.
A trail of missed reveals
In December 2024 a VR industry figure repeated hearsay that Newell would announce Half-Life 3 at The Game Awards, adding: “I personally don’t believe it.” The Dec. 12 show had no Half-Life news. In January 2025 the actor who voices G-Man promised “surprises” that year.
The fall of 2025 brought a pileup. A long-time Valve dataminer pointed to a possible HLX announcement in November, with a trailer in the works. A games news editor citing unnamed sources said a big Valve announcement was still to come that year. A games industry insider with a strong track record passed on a tip for a reveal at noon on Nov. 18, a day before Half-Life’s 27th anniversary, then posted that afternoon that noon had “come & gone.” The actor’s “surprises” and all three fall claims were contradicted when 2025 ended without a Half-Life announcement.
Hardware without Half-Life
Valve’s big news was hardware. On Nov. 12, 2025, it announced Steam Controller, Steam Machine and Steam Frame, and no game. A games news editor citing unnamed sources then said Half-Life 3 would be a Steam Machine launch title in spring 2026.
The launches contradicted that. Steam Machine launched through reservations on June 22 at $1,049 with no new Half-Life. Steam Frame followed on Sept. 14 from $1,059, and Valve’s line was “Half-Life: Alyx is included!” A VR hardware dataminer had spotted “Frame Alyx Promo” code strings on Aug. 31, a find the launch confirmed. A major Alyx update on launch day let the game run on Steam Frame without a PC.
A day later Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais said the team “had talked about” a new game for Steam Frame but chose to focus on “the Steam catalogue as a whole.” A Valve dataminer had said of Half-Life 3 in June: “I don’t think it was ever meant to be a release title.”
The price, and how to play now
There is no price from Valve or a credible leak. On Steam today, Half-Life and Half-Life 2 cost $9.99 each, with both episodes inside Half-Life 2, and Half-Life: Alyx costs $59.99. Alyx needs a PC VR headset or a Steam Frame, which comes with a copy. Valve has not named platforms for any new Half-Life.
What to watch next
Valve has set no date to circle. Valve usually reveals its games on its own channels and schedule: for Half-Life: Alyx, a post on X came days before the trailer, and the trailer about four months before launch. A Valve post, a trailer or a Steam store page would be the first real sign. Until then, watch Valve’s game updates, where HLX code keeps appearing. We update this story as soon as Valve announces Half-Life 3 or a date.
Our latest report: Half-Life 3 release date: not announced, 19 years after Episode Two's cliffhanger
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Half-Life 3 FAQ
When does Half-Life 3 come out?
Valve has not given a date, because it has not announced the game. Rumored reveals in 2025 and a spring 2026 launch with Steam Machine did not happen.
Is Half-Life 3 real?
Not officially. Valve has not announced it, and Steam has no store page. Valve staff have said they want more Half-Life, but they have not named a game.
What is HLX?
HLX is a codename that dataminers have found in Valve’s game code since February 2024, in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and Deadlock. Many read it as a new Half-Life. Valve has not confirmed what it is.
Will Half-Life 3 be in VR or on a flat screen?
Valve has not said. Dataminers say HLX is a flat-screen game, not VR. Half-Life: Alyx, the last Half-Life game, works only in VR.
Does Steam Frame come with Half-Life 3?
No. Steam Frame launched Sept. 14, 2026, at $1,059 with Half-Life: Alyx included. Valve says it considered a new game for the headset but focused on making the Steam catalog work.
How much will Half-Life 3 cost?
There is no price from Valve or a credible leak. Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx costs $59.99 on Steam.
Is Half-Life: Alyx the same as Half-Life 3?
No. Half-Life: Alyx is a VR game set between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and you play as Alyx Vance. It came out March 23, 2020.
Why did Valve never make Episode 3?
Gabe Newell said Valve could have shipped it, but Newell could not figure out how it was “pushing anything forward”. Valve calls it “the third episode that never came to be”.
Will Half-Life 3 come out in 2026?
Valve has announced no Half-Life game for 2026. In June and July 2026 a well-known dataminer said Valve had delayed HLX and that a 2026 reveal is no longer a safe bet.
Where can I play the Half-Life games now?
On Steam. Half-Life costs $9.99, Half-Life 2 costs $9.99 with both episodes included, and Half-Life: Alyx costs $59.99 and needs a VR headset or a Steam Frame.