Could this finally be the week Gabe and co. decide the time is right to bring us official HL3 news?
For the past 15 years, fans have had to make do with rumors, leaks, and hearsay, as they patiently (?) wait for official Half-Life 3 news from Valve.
But the wait could be about to end in dramatic fashion, as early as this week… according to the latest rumors.
It goes without saying that, until anything is confirmed by Valve, everything posted here — or anywhere else — should be viewed with caution.
But there are at least three signs Valve could be gearing up to make an HL3 announcement this week.
1/ Steam Autumn Sale arrived two months early
First off, as highlighted by @TheJeremy__ on Twitter, Steam’s Autumn Sale was brought forward by two months this year. Usually taking place in November, the 2025 event took place in September, with nothing scheduled in its place.
That leaves a curiously long gap between this week’s Animal Fest and the next confirmed event, Sports Fest, which is due to start on December 8.
Valve for the first time and breaking a tradition of more than a decade, they moved the Autumn Sale ahead of schedule. Notice that there is an unusually long gap between events from November 18 to December 8.
Half-Life 3 is just around the corner… pic.twitter.com/F2MyKxhszf
— Jeremy. (@TheJeremy__) November 9, 2025
Steam’s seasonal sales are their biggest of the year, and these dates are usually locked in many months beforehand. For example, we already know that the Steam Spring Sale 2026 is scheduled for 19-26 of March next year.
It’s extremely rare, if not totally unheard of, for them to change the dates of one of their tentpole sales events.
It’s even rarer for Steam to miss an opportunity to run a sale without good reason.
2/ Valve hardware announcement expected this week
Murmurings have been circulating that new Valve hardware is set to be officially revealed any day now, with the next Valve VR headset, named Frame (previously codenamed Deckard), which reportedly entered mass production in October, with a target to produce 400–600K units per year.
And according to a screenshot from Brad Lynch’s Discord channel, which was shared on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours, they’ve been told by a number of sources that news on the device is coming this week. Potentially tomorrow, November 12.
“I’m just going to flat out say it. I was told by a few sources, across a few weeks, to keep an eye out for this week. More specifically, Wednesday.”
3/ Half-Life: Alyx announcement date similarities
Finally, next Wednesday, November 19, will mark 6 years since Half-Life: Alyx was first announced.
When it came out, in March 2020, the VR-only title was met with almost universal praise from both players, who scored it ‘Overwhelmingly Positively’ on Steam (98% positive ratings from 87K+ reviews), and critics, with the game ending up with a 93% on OpenCritic.
Those figures make Alyx the highest-rated VR title of all time, and its popularity has only served to increase demand for official Half-Life 3 news ever since.
When will Valve announce Half-Life 3?
Ultimately, only a select few at Steam’s parent company will truly know.
There have been very few leaks from this particular Valve, which has only served to fuel speculation down the years.
Tyler McVicker, an independent investigative journalist who focuses on the gaming industry — Valve, in particular — and who claimed earlier this year that Half-Life 3 was playable from beginning to end, suggested on his HLX Files YouTube show that a trailer for HL3 was in the works.
If that is true, it could certainly add credence to the above rumors. But right now, as has been the case for more than a decade and a half, no one has anything concrete to go off.
Best-case scenario? We get to see Half-Life 3 and the new Valve Frame VR headset this week.
Worst-case scenario? We have to wait a bit more.
