Blogger and data miner Tyler McVicker shared new details about the development of Valve’s secret game codenamed hlx — a potential Half-Life 3 — during a recent broadcast.
Image Source: Valve
It was previously reported that hlx development was “very, very far along,” Valve was ramping up the intensity of behind-the-scenes testing of the game, and its official announcement could come in 2025.
According to McVicker, hlx is currently undergoing such extensive testing that some of its participants are willing to talk about it openly (including the story component).
As for the story, hlx supposedly takes the place of Half-Life 3 in the series’ chronology, will put a fat end to the adventures of the silent theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman and for many developers will become a “farewell gift” to fans.
Image source: Reddit
According to the dataminers’ findings, hlx is a single-player first-person shooter (not VR) with an emphasis on interactivity, simulation, and advanced AI. McVicker added on the stream that the game will develop the idea of the “Director” from Left 4 Dead.
According to McVicker, hlx can already be completed from start to finish, the developers are focused on polishing, and the game will not take long to arrive: the blogger expects an official announcement this summer, and a release in the winter of 2025.
Rumor has it that hlx has been in development since at least 2021. The project is being developed by the Half-Life: Alyx team. Recently, the studio’s in-house artist Evgeny Evstratiy let it slip that Valve is making Half-Life 3 after all.