Valve Developer Mistakenly Mentions Rumored Half-Life 3 Codename

A Valve developer mistakenly slipped up and made mention of Half-Life 3's long-rumored codename during a recent conference.

For years, fans have wondered if we'll ever see Half-Life 3. During the 2010s, hope for the threequel was kept firmly alive by die-hard fans... but it was later revealed that the project had been quietly killed by Valve. However, hope was reignited when Valve released Half-Life: Alyx, which ended with a massive cliffhanger that seemed to directly set up Gordon Freeman's next adventure. Ever since then, there have been rumors of a third game, with various dataminers discovering references to a project known as "HLX" in various Valve-related files. It has been believed for years that HLX is indeed Half-Life 3, as no one has been able to link it to any other existing Valve project. (And, of course, the acronym all but screaming that it's Half-Life related.)

Now, Valve has acknowleged the project itself, though not on purpose. …