Half-Life 3 detectives think they’ve found new clues in Steam’s code

By Patrick Hearn Published January 10, 2025

The evidence for Half-Life 3 continues to build, with fans now saying they have proof the game exists within Steam’s back-end code. There have been quite a few hints lately that could be interpreted to be the long-awaited sequel, but after many, many, many disappointments over the past two decades, we urge you to take this news with the proper dose of skepticism.

On the Valve subreddit, u/Relevant_Basis5444 discovered that Valve has two games listed under Upcoming Releases, but only Deadlock is visible. The finding prompted a discussion among users — many confirming the listing — and one even said that using the Wayback Machine shows only one upcoming game as of December 29. Of course, there is a chance this could be nothing more than a bug.

Other users suggested the upcoming game could be In the Valley of the Gods by Firewatch developer Campo Santo, but it already has a Steam page unrelated to Valve.

The go-to explanation for fans is, of course, Half-Life 3, but it might be more than just wishful thinking this time. Earlier this year, Mike Shapiro (the voice actor for G-Man in Half-Life 2) shared a cryptic post that said an unexpected surprise was on the way. In November 2023, Valve finally explained what happened to the long-awaited Half-Life 2: Episode 3, and even before that, a data miner found snippets of code believed to be linked to a new, in-development title.

Natasha Chandel, another voice actor, referenced “Project White Sands,” an obvious codename that fans tied to Black Mesa, the setting of the Half-Life franchise. Although that reference has since been removed from Chandel’s resume, fans quote it as more evidence that something is stirring behind the scenes.

Half-Life 2 just celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, and this year will be five years since the launch of Half-Life: Alyx. With discussion and excitement reaching yet another fever pitch, it would be an ideal time for another Valve release.