Why Is Everyone Posting About a Half-Life 3 Announcement Soon?

Haha. Yeah, I know. "Half-Life 3". The long-fabled, often-rumored, inactive non-existent 3rd numbered introduction successful the Half-Life bid that fans person craved but ne'er heard a credible susurration of. It's been a pervasive gag successful the manufacture and among fans for years, a stand-in for a happening that doesn't beryllium and ne'er would.

And yet, for immoderate reason, a batch of radical look to deliberation it's being announced soon. Possibly successful the adjacent fewer weeks. Maybe adjacent today.

You mightiness person seen it. The abrupt flurry of mentions of Half-Life 3, immoderate humorous, immoderate rather serious. The surge of memes. A fistful of radical that look to person mislaid their dang minds:

So what's going on? Why bash radical deliberation Half-Life 3 is imminent, earnestly oregon unseriously? We investigated:

Half-Hope

Half-Life 3 rumors person existed beauteous overmuch since Half-Life 2 archetypal released, truthful that's thing new. But the past mates of years person seen a dependable trickle of absorbing small threads that person pb galore to judge that a 3rd introduction was really successful development, quietly, astatine Valve. There were vague nods, specified arsenic the Half-Life: Alyx squad saying they wanted to marque much Half-Life games and a Final Hours documentary that really confirmed it was successful improvement astatine 1 constituent betwixt 2013 and 2014. We've besides seen dataminers pulling crumbs from assorted Valve releases implicit the past fewer years of what seems to beryllium an in-development crippled internally astatine Valve known lone arsenic "HLX", utilizing Source 2. Dataminers person worked retired that it's a full-fledged, non-VR, Half-Life crippled of immoderate sort, that's been successful the works since astatine slightest 2021, astir apt earlier. That crippled is perchance the aforesaid 1 arsenic was accidentally leaked by a dependable histrion successful 2024, who referred to it arsenic "Project White Sands".

But this twelvemonth there's been a marked summation successful small breadcrumbs. Right aft the caller year, G-Man's dependable histrion issued a cryptic station teasing "unexpected surprises" successful 2025 – it was his archetypal tweet since helium congratulated Valve connected Half-Life: Alyx successful December 2020. Fans proceeded to teardrop isolated the post, delving heavy into an medium screen representation and the fig 197 for what they believed were adjacent much hints that thing was successful the works.

But an already simmering cookware of rumors turned into a afloat boil with the announcement past week of caller Valve hardware: the Steam Machine, implicit with a caller Steam controller, and a VR headset known arsenic the Steam Frame. Notably, determination were nary bundle announcements alongside these hardware reveals, which is simply a spot unusual fixed that Valve tends to merchandise caller games alongside caller hardware - callback Half-Life: Alyx and the Valve Index headset. Around the aforesaid time, a fig of Valve and manufacture insiders began mentioning Half-Life 3, saying confidently that it was planned for a 2025 announcement still. One leaker, who has a bully way grounds of getting Valve worldly right, said backmost successful May that Half-Life 3 was officially "playable, end-to-end." There's a monolithic Miro committee floating astir that has catalogued each remotely credible caller notation of Half-Life 3, and is worthy digging into if you privation travel along.

Go, G-Man, Go

There are truthful galore different weird small indicators floating astir that are starring to chaotic speculation. For instance, Valve's "Upcoming Releases" tab connected its ain Steam leafage lone lists 1 crippled (Deadlock) contempt the sidebar indicating that determination are two upcoming crippled releases. A tweet/X station from the authoritative The Game Awards relationship commemorating Half-Life's 27th day contiguous has sent everyone into a frenzy, adjacent though it tweets this day each year. There was a weird magnitude of other information astatine Valve during the caller Steam hardware preview events – thing noticed by IGN's ain representatives and contrasted with my idiosyncratic acquisition determination for Half-Life: Alyx years ago, which featured a comparatively mean and relaxed magnitude of security.

And determination was an incredibly silly saga wherever Geoff Keighley posted a screenshot that showed helium had 1 crippled successful his Steam wishlist. When asked what the crippled was, helium responded with an eyes emoji, and past showed the crippled Dadlympics. Of course, the Half-Life nerds pounced. Keighley past posted a screenshot of his wishlist showing lone the crippled "Dadlympics," but notably, this was added connected 11/18, the aforesaid time helium posted the screenshot, suggesting he's hiding something. Is helium hiding Half-Life 3? Probably not! It doesn't person a viewable Steam page! That's not however Steam works! But that hasn't stopped Half-Life 3 fans from pouncing. Seriously, the replies are hilarious.

pic.twitter.com/t5L0zHW0Il

Whatever you judge is happening here, the world is that this has resulted successful the assemblage going wholly bonkers. The Half-Life subreddit is overflowing with Half-Life 3 summoning and anticipation posts. A speedy hunt for Half-Life connected Twitter/X reveals an overflow of discourse, prayers, and memes. It's benignant of nuts, and besides really, truly fun:

Okay, truthful let's accidental everyone's right, and we truly are getting Half-Life 3 announced soon. When? Well, immoderate deliberation it's arsenic soon arsenic today. November 19, arsenic The Game Awards posted, is the day of Half-Life – what amended clip to marque an announcement? We've already passed the day of Half-Life 2, and the day of Half-Life: Alyx's announcement, but that peculiar day is the crushed you're apt seeing truthful overmuch sound astir this today. The different large anticipation floated by immoderate is an announcement astatine The Game Awards, which is coming up connected December 11. That would beryllium a small surprising, fixed that Valve doesn't request an awards amusement to bid attraction with specified an announcement. But Valve besides has a agelong past of friendliness with big Geoff Keighley, truthful possibly it's not truthful far-fetched aft all.

Whatever the case, 1 happening is certain: either Half-Life 3 is getting announced earlier December 31, 2025, oregon an atrocious batch of folks are going to person ovum connected their faces travel January 1, 2026. I'm personally hoping for the former, but the assemblage has been hoodwinked earlier with Half-Life rumors, aggregate times even. Keep injecting that Hopium, folks. Perhaps the instrumentality of G-man is close astir the corner.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].