Half-Life 3 being playtested, likely nearing completion for winter release

Once again, there is news of Half-Life 3’s existence! The latest claim is that the game is being widely playtested and that it may be announced this summer and release in the winter. The information comes from Tyler McVicker who has been known to provide credible Valve leaks in the past. The update on Half-Life 3 or HLX was shared during an Ask Me Anything livestream.

During the over three hour stream titled “Ask Me Anything - HLX/HL3 Discussion”, McVicker spoke about the status of Half-Life 3 and answered fan questions about the game and other Valve projects. He stated that the game is being playtested “so religiously” and “so widely” that there are people who are talking about the plot. Later in the stream he adds that the game is the furthest it has ever been and that it is playable end to end. 

Half-Life 3 will not be a VR game like Half-Life Alyx and will use procedural generation, but not for terrain or mechanics. It will generate things like physics props, enemies, enemy types, and more. It will also push advanced AI tech, McVicker added. 

As for the release, he believes that the game will be announced in the summer and released in the winter. 

McVicker stated that by this point, there were way more leaks about Half-Life Alyx compared to Half-Life 3. He also spoke about Portal 3 and said that it may be the main Valve project after the Half-Life sequel.

It should be noted that this is not official information about the game and that Valve has been tight lipped about sharing anything. Back in February, McVicker did a thorough data-mine of the DOTA 2 update and found hints of new mechanics said to be related to HLX. 

Those who just want the key points from the livestream can thank user 'atahutahatena' on Reddit for the summary.