Half-Life 3 might finally be real. Or maybe fans are getting ahead of themselves.
The latest theory spreading online has longtime Half-Life players convinced that Valve is preparing to drop the long-awaited sequel before the end of 2025.
The Reddit Theory
Reddit user sameseksure thinks they’ve found a major clue hidden in Valve’s calendar. They noticed a gap between November 18th and December 8th in the Steam Events schedule.
“Whatever’s on the front page of Steam gets a HUGE amount of exposure,” sameseksure shared. “They put Half-Life: Alyx on the front page banner immediately after the announcement back in 2019, as well as the Valve Index when it was announced.”
Since Valve reserves the top banner for major promotions, they rarely overlap it with other events. “They’d rather reschedule stuff to ensure they’re not cannibalising themselves,” sameseksure explained.
The Evidence
This theory isn’t the only thing feeding the hype. Fans have been buzzing over reports of a new Half-Life project. Allegedly codenamed HLX, the project had reached a “playable, end-to-end” stage back in 2024.
Valve insider Tyler McVicker claimed that Valve was working on “a fully fledged non-VR Half-Life game.” McVicker has a history of sharing insider reports on Valve’s projects. Back in October, he said a trailer for Half-Life 3 was in the works. He figured it would probably be released sometime this November. Add to that an actor implying he’s attached to this mystery game and suddenly the idea doesn’t sound impossible.
Is Half-Life 3 on the Horizon?
I know fans have been waiting for a sequel to Half-Life 2 for over fifteen years. Half-Life 3 has been in development, then canceled for years.
Even if everything does line up, what’s stopping Valve from delaying it again?
This is a company that operates on its own timeline. We’ve seen how unpredictable game rollouts can be. Just look at what happened with GTA 6, which has been delayed twice this year.
While it’s fun to connect the dots, the truth is that until Valve officially says Half-Life 3 is coming, nobody really knows if this game will see the light of day.
I am hoping this Reddit theory is true. It would be funny to see if we’re getting Half-Life 3 before GTA 6.
