Half-Life 3 Hope Ignites After Valve Dev Slips Secret HLX Codename On Stage

The never-ending Half-Life 3 saga continues, thanks to a passing mention of "HLX" by Valve composer Mike Morasky. For those unaware, past data mining efforts pointed toward HLX being a codename for Half-Life 3. The full quote is in the context of how HDR sound is handled by the Source 2 engine. Morasky stated, "I think Deadlock has their own version of HDR. You know, HLX has its own version, so on and so forth."

We have the first mention of HLX by a Valve employee. HLX files today. I'm working as quickly as I can. https://t.co/LhFBNOP1CU

— Tyler "Hype Merchant" McVicker (@Tyler_McV) October 22, 2026

Within moments of Morasky leaving the stage, fellow Valve employee and Sound Designer Dave Feise whispered "Nice work!" This seemingly confirms that HLX was not intended to to be public knowledge despite the years of available leaks about the project. While rumors of the game coinciding with the Steam Machine or the Steam Frame did not come to fruition, all available information does indicate that it's far along in development.

If you're interested in learning more about potential gameplay features coming to Half-Life 3 or at least being tested within the Source 2 engine, I highly recommend the full video from Tyler McVicker embedded below. We've yet to see any real leaks of Half-Life 3's graphics, so we don't quite know what it'll look like, if the game is ever actually released. Based on existing engine features and information teased in HLX-related datamining efforts, however, there are reasons to be optimistic.

Besides a brief discussion on the name-drop of HLX, the video doubles as a breakdown of information found from a 30 hour datamine of files related to HLX, especially the Hammer map editor related files and enhancements. These include systems for dynamic tripwires with visible demo animations, programmable Combine gunships with bomb targets, fine-tuning sightlines and cover, and more.