Rumors that have circulated online in recent months about a secret Valve project codenamed hlx — widely presumed to be Half‑Life 3 — did not result in an imminent announcement. Still, multiple insiders insist the long‑teased sequel is real and its release may not be far off, even if the timetable has shifted.
According to a recent Insider Gaming Weekly report, senior editor Mike Straw said that dates floated to numerous tipsters proved unreliable. Straw suggested Valve may have fed false announcement dates to the rumor mill deliberately, as a way to identify information leaks and those who pass privileged details outside the company.
Straw told his contacts that hlx is intended to be a launch title for Valve's renewed hardware push: a compact Steam Machine mini‑PC that the company unveiled late in the previous year. That device was scheduled for release in 2026, and Straw specifically indicated a spring 2026 window as the original target for both the hardware and the flagship game.
However, Straw added, the whole plan may be slipping. He attributed the delay pressures to a severe and worsening shortage of DRAM chips affecting the industry. Prices for memory modules, he said, have spiked dramatically compared with October, with increases in the range of 200%, 300% and, in some cases, as much as 500%, making component sourcing and product launch timing problematic.
"The game is real — there is no doubt about that. It's a question of 'when', not 'if'," Straw was quoted as saying. He noted that many indicators had pointed toward a December announcement at one point, but the emerging memory shortage made that unrealistic and raised the possibility that Steam Machine shipments and the associated game launch could be postponed.
Previous reporting has indicated that hlx has been in development at least since 2021, handled by the team behind Half‑Life: Alyx. The project is described as a single‑player shooter with a strong emphasis on simulation, advanced AI and highly interactive systems, and it is positioned in the series chronology as the follow‑up that effectively fills the role of Half‑Life 3.
If those descriptions are accurate, Valve aims to continue the franchise's focus on immersive, physics‑driven gameplay and world interactivity while updating core systems and AI to modern standards. The combination of new hardware ambitions and a technically ambitious game helps explain why Valve might be sensitive to component shortages and pricing volatility.
For now, the timeline remains tentative. Sources close to the reporting reiterate that the title exists and that a launch aligned with Valve's hardware ambitions was the plan, but that supply‑chain problems have become a major complicating factor. Observers should expect further shifts to public timing until the company can secure stable hardware availability and pricing.