Although Valve unveiled new hardware, there was no mention of new software, despite rumors suggesting that something is in the works at Gabe Newell’s workshop.

Half-Life 3 fans were not satisfied with Valve’s announcement of the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller last week. All are expected to be released in early 2026. Fans had believed in the game’s existence and imminent release even before the announcements, and their belief was reinforced when several insiders hinted at it. The hype increased as the franchise celebrated the 27th anniversary of Half-Life’s release on November 19, 1998.

Nate the Hate acknowledged that his sources talked about Half-Life 3 but received conflicting information about the timing of the announcement. According to one source, the announcement was supposed to happen at noon a few days ago but did not. Shpeshal_Nick, whose track record is somewhat mixed, tweeted that he read in a private message last week that, after last week’s Valve hardware presentation, the software (Half-Life 3?) would be next in line this week.

Unsure. One bit of info I was given suggested it would happen at noon today — which has come & gone.

I’m not going to share anything until I have a consensus on specifics.

— NateTheHate2 (@NateTheHate2) November 18, 2025

Probably deep enough into the week to know this isn’t happening right now

Last week I got a DM that Valve was showing off hardware “this week” (last week) and software “next week” (this week)

This software was allegedly Half Life 3. Hence my caution with my tweet. “Big if” https://t.co/aVN9XOcYnL

— Shpeshal Nick (@Shpeshal_Nick) November 18, 2025

Sean Hollister, an editor at The Verge, was among those invited to Valve’s headquarters for the presentation of the new hardware. He noted that the developer’s offices were strangely filled with security guards, which he had never seen during his previous visits. The article featured an image of a customized Steam Machine with several memes, including a “censored” title beginning with the letter H, which fans interpreted as a hint from Valve that the censorship would soon be lifted.

Through extensive data mining and references found in Source 2 engine updates, traces of the game project codenamed HLX were discovered. Back in May, Tyler McVicker claimed that the project, believed to be Half-Life 3, was nearing completion. An announcement on the anniversary of the release of the first game in the franchise would make perfect sense. However, that didn’t happen.

Source: WCCFTech, The Verge