Published Oct 22, 2026, 5:16 PM EDT

Michael McWhertor is a New York-based journalist and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering games, industry events, technology, movies, and TV.

'I did?'

Valve employee reignites Half-Life 3 rumors by dropping 'HLX' codename

Image: Valve Software

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It's been two decades since we last checked in on Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2: Episode Two , with the promise of a third Half-Life game languishing for an absurdly long time. In the intervening years, Valve has neither confirmed nor denied a third mainline Half-Life game, though the secretive studio is rumored to have canceled at least one attempt to make Half-Life 3 .…