A recent update from a reputable Valve insider has cast some doubt surrounding the prospect of aHalf-Life 3announcement in the short term. Rumors surroundingHalf-Life 3have accelerated in recent months, suggesting that the highly-anticipated threequel could finally break cover this year, albeit Valve’s lips remain tightly-sealed on the matter.
As the once-sequel to 2004’sHalf-Life 2- one of the greatest first-person shooters ever made -Half-Life 3has lingered in gamers' collective hopes and dreams ever since Valve abandoned the project over a decade ago. All hope forHalf-Life 3seemed lost, but fans were given a glimmer of hope with 2020’sHalf-Life: AlyxVR spin-off, signaling Valve’s continued interest in the franchise. In recent months, datamined info and rumors have pointed to anew Valve project under the codenameHLX, which is widely assumed to beHalf-Life 3.
One dataminer even claimed thatHalf-Life 3’s announcement could take place"any day" now, sinceHLXis purportedly in the polishing and playtesting phase of its development. However, notable Valve insider Gabe Follower recently discovered that theoriginal 1999-registered domain name forHalf-Life 3has officially expiredas of today, July 20, 2025 - and Valve has not renewed it. While this doesn’t necessarily confirm the worst, it casts doubt on the mounting rumors ofHalf-Life 3’s debut potentially being on the horizon.
Valve Lets 26-Year-Old Half-Life 3 Domain Expire, But It’s Not All Doom and Gloom Yet
It’s worth noting, though, that theHalf-Life 3domain has now lapsed into a grace period, which means Valve still has time to reclaim it. But it’s the timing of this domain expiration that has alarmed fans, who wonder why a company allegedly nearing such a major announcement would let such an important piece of its digital identity slip. As of now, Valve has provided no official comment on the matter, but fans remain vigilant on anyactivity surroundingHalf-Life 3. On the flip side, Valve could end up not using a dedicated domain forHalf-Life 3at all, and instead fold the game into thecollectiveHalf-Lifewebsite.
Therefore, Valve fans shouldn’t lose all hope based on theHalf-Life 3domain expiration, especially after so many insiders have corroborated reports of the game’s existence. Whether HLX is indeed the full-fledgedHalf-Life 3that continues the franchise’s story in a major way, or another spin-off in the same vein asAlyx, remains up in the air for now. Either way, the coming year or so is shaping up to be an exciting time forHalf-Lifefans.
