RUMOUR: Something may be up with HALF-LIFE 3

Here we go again.

Almost quasi-credible rumours are swirling from previously-reliable Valve insiders (including those that broke the news of the existence of their previous games) that Valve Software may be on the verge of formally announcing Half-Life 3, for release in early 2026. The mega-delayed video game was at one time slated for release as early as 2009, and its continuous non-appearance has made it one of the Internet's most famous, long-running gags. Fans had given up hope of ever seeing it before Valve released the VR-based spin-off game Half-Life Alyx in 2020, which ended with a strong tease that Half-Life 3 was indeed on the way.

Series protagonist Gordon Freeman and key ally Alyx Vance in publicity art for Half-Life 2.

A Short History of Half-Life

The original Half-Life was released in 1998 and was a revolutionary game in the development of the first-person shooter genre. With its commitment to total immersion - your character never spoke and there were no cut scenes that took you out of the action - the game broke new ground in telling story and depicting action in a first-person environment. Almost every major FPS series that followed after it owes it a debt of gratitude, including BioShock, Far Cry, Call of Duty and Halo. Three expansions followed, namely Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Decay, that expanded the story and background lore. The game was also a huge step forwards for modding, with some mods becoming official releases, including the single-player action game Gunman Chronicles and multiplayer games Team Fortress and Counter-Strike. In 2020, after five years of partial releases and betas, Half-Life received a Valve-sanctioned remake release as Black Mesa.

Half-Life 2 was released in late 2004 and was again a giant jump forwards for FPS gaming, mostly down to its stunning graphics (which still hold up well today), lighting and physics puzzles. Half-Life 2 also massively popularised the game distribution platform Steam, which has now become the single most popular game distribution platform on PC, and is credited with saving the PC as a gaming platform. The game was followed by two direct expansions, Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two, the latter released in late 2007 as part of The Orange Box alongside Team Fortress 2 and physics puzzler Portal.

Valve indicated that Half-Life 2: Episode Three should follow within about eighteen months, but the game never appeared. Instead, it developed Portal 2 (2011) and the multi-player Left 4 Dead series. Constant rumours about the status of Episode Three swirled but nothing definitive was announced, aside from a nod that if a new game should appear, it would probably be a full Half-Life 3 rather than another expansion. Finally, in late 2019, Valve confirmed that Half-Life: Alyx was on its way, an interquel set between Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Released in March 2020 to blanket critical acclaim, Alyx became (and remains) the definitive VR game, as well as a strong game in its own right. With the ending of the game apparently recontextualising the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, fans began theorising that a new, mainline (non-VR) entry in the series was in development.

The Combine Citadel in City 17 under construction (from Half-Life: Alyx).

The Rumours

Rumours of Half-Life 3 began circulating after Half-Life: Alyx's release, specifically its ending which revisited the massive cliffhanger ending of Episode Two and provided a stronger jumping-off point for a new game. It was also noted that the making of Alyx required the creation of 4K assets for City 17 locations and Half-Life weapons and items, that could be reused either in Half-Life 3 or a comprehensive remaster/remake of Half-Life 2 (or both). The creation of Alyx also meant huge adjustments to the Source 2 Engine that cold only be fully justified through the release of additional games (Counter-Strike 2 was subsequently released in 2023, and multiplayer game Deadlock has since been announced, both also using Source 2).

Rumours began gathering pace last year, with rumours stating that a project known as "HLX" or "Half-Life X" had been in development since Alyx wrapped, alongside new hardware projects. These rumours gathered pace in late 2024 and early 2025, with noted industry insiders with excellent track records confirming that Half-Life 3, or at least a new Half-Life game, was an active project. Hardware rumours also continued to proliferate.

This week, Valve formally confirmed the existence of a new generation of Steam Machine home consoles, a new range of VR equipment, and a second generation of Steam Controllers. Insiders became more confident that Half-Life 3 was a thing, stating that Valve had not announced it at the same time as the hardware so one news would not drown out the other.

The date for Half-Life 3's official confirmation is unclear, though some have suggested 16 November (today), as the 21st anniversary of Half-Life 2's release. However, that hasn't happened so far and it'd be odd to make a major announcement on a Sunday (though it's Valve, who delight in not being bound by commercial conventions, so who knows?). Wednesday 19 November may be more likely, as the 27th anniversary of the Half-Life franchise as a whole. Otherwise the next likely date is Thursday 11 December, at the 2025 Game Awards, though it's likely Valve would not want to share the stage with other games.

As for a release date, a shadow-drop like that done by Bethesda for Oblivion Remastered earlier this year seems less likely, with a Q1 2026 release more plausible. The rumours also suggest that the game will only be released on PC via Steam, Linux and SteamOS, and may be a launch title for the new Steam Machine hardware, estimated in early 2026. Console versions of the game would only follow at a later date. The game is rumoured to not be a VR-exclusive, Valve acknowledging that too many gamers are not fans of the VR experience (or even can't enjoy it due to medical reasons). There may be an optional VR mode.

If Half-Life 3 did launch in 2026, it would likely only be eclipsed in sales and profile by Grand Theft Auto VI (currently scheduled for a November 2026 release).

Of course, that's assuming the news is real and Valve don't actually announce Alyx 2, Portal 3 or some other title.

The Aperture Science vessel Borealis from Half-Life 2: Episode Three concept art. The Borealis is believed to be a key location in the next Half-Life title.

NOTE: Spoilers for the Half-Life series follow

The Half-Life series tells the story of an alien invasion of Earth that begins when scientists at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico inadvertently breach the dimensional barrier between Earth and another world called Xen. Aliens flood the complex, but are ultimately stopped and their master, the Nihilanth, is defeated by Black Mesa research scientist Gordon Freeman. Freeman is the only survivor of the crisis equipped with a Hazardous Environment Suit, allowing him to reach Xen and destroy the threat once and for all. Having achieved his mission, Freeman is "recruited" by the enigmatic "G-Man" to serve as his agent. Other expansions explore the fate of other characters during the original Black Mesa Incident, including US Marine Adrian Shepherd and Black Mesa security officer Barney Calhoun.

Half-Life 2 is set twenty years later and reveals that, although the Black Mesa Incident was successfully resolved, the events attracted the attention of the Nihilanth's masters, the mysterious Combine, an ultra-powerful, trans-dimensional, post-Singularity alien force. The Combine invaded Earth in the Seven-Hour War, defeating its armies and occupying the planet with trivial ease. Draining the oceans, suppressing human reproduction and reducing the population to "manageable" levels, the Combine are interested only in draining Earth's resources and leaving the planet for dead. Gordon Freeman is returned to the frey by G-Man. Rapidly joining forces with a resistance movement led by veterans of Black Mesa (including Barney, Dr. Kleiner and Eli Vance), Gordon leads a successful uprising that destroys the Combine Citadel in City 17 and frees humanity. Gordon leads a further military assault that ensures the survival of the resistance and the destruction of the Combine "superportal" that is summoning reinforcements from one of the Combine homeworlds. During this latter battle, one of Gordon's key allies is killed and Combine Advisors are revealed to be at large on Earth, whilst a resistance group has located the Borealis, a ship created by Aperture Science capable of travelling through portals. The Borealis may hold the key to permanently sealing the portals to Earth and preventing future Combine invasions.

Half-Life: Alyx is set a couple of years before Half-Life 2 and focuses on Alyx Vance, the daughter of Dr. Eli Vance from Black Mesa. Alyx plays a major role in Half-Life 2 and its expansions as effectively a co-protagonist. Alyx sets out on a routine reconnaissance mission which escalates when the resistance discovers evidence of a major Combine "superweapon." Her investigations eventually defeat this Combine plot but attract the attention of the powerful G-Man. G-Man agrees to intervene to help her during her moment of highest need, which results in him changing time to alter the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Unfortunately, this is only possible if she agrees to replace Gordon as his most trusted agent. Gordon finds himself discarded, but with a new, incredibly daunting mission: to defeat G-Man and rescue Alyx, and ensure the Combine threat is ended for good.

The spin-off Portal series focuses on Aperture Science, a rival to Black Mesa. Aperture focuses on portal technology, short-range teleportation using interdimensional portals. A research subject named Chell discovers that the Aperture Science computer, GLaDOS, has gone loopy and is trying to kill her. She defeats GLaDOS but is unable to escape from the facility, and is put into suspended animation. She wakes up to find the world in ruins (possibly a result of the Combine invasion) and tries to escape again, but inadvertently reawakens GLaDOS. GLaDOS is in a battle of wills with a rival AI, Wheatley, with Chell caught in the middle, having to cut deals and work with both as she tries to navigate the Aperture Labs and escape. There are various connections to the Half-Life series, including the discovery of the empty Borealis dry dock, but these are limited.

The Black Mesa Incident, or Resonance Cascade, that triggers the events of the Half-Life universe. Depicted here in remake game Black Mesa.

A Wertzone History of the Wait for Half-Life 3

• What's up with Half-Life 3? (January 2012)
• Finally! An official quasi-update on Half-Life 3 (April 2012)
• Happy 15th Anniversary to Half-Life (November 2013)
• Half-Life writer leaves Valve (January 2016)
• Half-Life writer reveals where the story would have gone in Episode 3 (August 2017)
• Happy 20th Anniversary to Half-Life (November 2018)
• Valve to release third full Half-Life game in March 2020 (but not the one you want) (November 2019)
• SF&F Questions: Will We Ever See Half-Life 3? (December 2019)
• Half-Life 3 (probably) confirmed (March 2020)
• Valve tease next-generation Half-Life game (July 2020)
• Footage of unreleased Half-Life game emerges (May 2022)
• Idea for Portal 3 floated at Valve (December 2022)
• Half-Life 2 turns twenty years old (November 2024)