New leaks suggest Half-Life 3 could actually be happening

20 years after the release of the original Half-Life, fans finally have a credible leak that suggests Half-Life 3 may finally be happening.

Released in 1998, Half-Life provided a base for many mods that eventually became standalone games. In 2004, Gordon Freeman’s story continued in Half-Life 2 and ended on a cliffhanger. To this day, no one knows what happens to Freeman, nor who G-Man really is as Half-Life Alyx explored events prior to the sequel, not after it. After several cancellations of story continuation, a new leak has appeared suggesting that Valve may finally answer the big questions in Half-Life 3.

Natasha Chandel is a renowned voice actor in gaming, having worked on titles such as Starfield, Valorant, and more, so when fans noticed Valve’s unannounced title White Sands on her list of projects, speculations were made, and most of them sound convincing.

Are the Half-Life 3 leaks real?

Half-Life 3 may be happening since the White Sands title leaks refer to a US military base in New Mexico, which is also the in-game location of Half-Life’s Black Mesa laboratory.

But that’s not the only reason White Sands could be Half-Life 3. Previously, Steam data pointed to a new Half-Life game dubbed HLX, but it was unclear whether they were related to Half-Life or Deadlock since both games were in development at the time. Now that Deadlock has been revealed, it’s safe to assume a separate game codenamed HLX is in development, according to leaker Tyler McVicker.

While the new project may be just another Half-Life VR episode or expansion, the lengthy gap since Half-Life 2 suggests that players can reasonably expect a full-fledged sequel without being disappointed. With Valve investing in a brand-new title, it’s likely that the company now has the necessary resources to deliver the long-awaited sequel that fans have been craving since the original’s cliffhanger ending.

The latest slip-up by the voice actor only confirms that another title besides Deadlock is undoubtedly in the works. The fact that Natasha Chandel has temporarily shut down the website further fuels the rumor. When the website came back up, the unannounced Valve title was already removed from the list.

This suggests there’s likely some truth to the rumors and leaks, and Gordon Freeman fans may be about to get some closure.