Rumor: Half-Life 3 is fully playable and could be coming out this year

According to the latest rumors, Valve’s mythical Half-Life 3 isn’t just in development—it could even be released this year. The long-awaited game that’s basically been a meme for nearly two decades is allegedly in a fully playable state, reports Wccftech and Engadget.

Codename “HLX” is not a VR title

According to the rumors, “HLX” is the codename for the project, which is believed to be Valve’s long-awaited Half-Life 3 and is currently undergoing extensive testing and optimization. If the rumors turn out to be true, it’ll be announced this summer and released later this year.

The rumors themselves come from Tyler McVicker, who has served as a reliable source in the past when it comes to Valve leaks and rumors. McVicker commented on the current status of Project HLX on a livestream, and details about the game’s plot are already circulating as a result.

As McVicker assured on the livestream, Project HLX will definitely not be a virtual reality title like Half-Life: Alyx was.

Half-Life 3 to be announced this summer?

Some time ago, someone else involved in Valve leaks reported that Half-Life 3 would be the “end of Gordon’s adventure,” possibly hinting at a proper ending for the franchise with no cliffhangers.

Aside from these rumors, fans have discovered code in major updates for Deadlock and Dota 2 that reference HLX. As these titles also run on Valve’s Source 2 engine, this makes sense. Half-Life: Alyx also utilized the same engine and showed what it’s still capable of today.

There hasn’t yet been an official Half-Life 3 announcement from Valve. However, Project HLX seems to have made a lot of progress despite being under wraps, and given that the game is supposedly fully playable, the developers are likely focusing on optimizations now. That means chances are high that we might actually get a proper Half-Life 3 announcement this summer, with the game itself coming not long after.