Key findings
- Previously discovered file names have been changed, possibly to divert suspicion from Half-Life 3.
- The evidence suggests that the Half-Life team is working on something.
- “Project White Sands” and “HLX” seem to be references to Half-Life.
We’re in the midst of full-blown Half-Life 3 hysteria, with hopeful fans of the series clinging to any evidence that the fabled game is (again) in development at Valve.
And there’s another twist to the story, as the file names identified in a recent data mining by reputable Valve leaker Tyler McVicker were recently changed by Valve, possibly to divert suspicion to Half-Life 3. A file name referencing Gordon Freeman’s famous HEV suit was changed to “Burbank Suit.”
Additionally, several new lines of code were identified, including references to Houndeyes and gravity shifting. Houndeyes are exploding alien enemies that haven’t appeared since the original Half-Life, not counting the fan-made remake Black Mesa.
The return of Gordon?
All of this came in the wake of a mysterious entry on voice actress Natasha Chandel’s resume, in which she says she worked on a Valve game called “Project White Sands.” White Sands is possibly a reference to White Sands, New Mexico, the setting of the first Half-Life. It could also be seen as the “opposite” of Black Mesa, Half-Life’s infamous research company.
Following this surprising discovery, data miners were able to find references to “HLX” in the Source 2 code. This is a similar chain of events that led to the Half-Life: Alyx leak in 2016. The popular theory among miners and fans is that HLX is the codename of the Half-Life team’s current project, which could be Half-Life 3.
If Gordon Freeman is involved, as the HEV (now Burbank) lawsuit suggests, the new entry would have to be a main game, since Gordon’s story is unbroken from the first Half-Life to Half-Life 2: Episode 2. It could be someone else in a HEV lawsuit, but that’s not really Valve’s style, is it?
The only time we played as another scientist in the HEV suit was in the PS2-exclusive Gearbox spin-off Decay.
Valve remains tight-lipped about its projects – the studio hasn’t even confirmed the existence of its 50,000-player hero shooter – so we don’t have any official information about an upcoming Half-Life game, but the evidence is piling up, even if Valve is doing its best to cover its tracks.
Half-life: Alyx
4.5/5
Half-Life: Alyx focuses on Alyx Vance, Gordon Freeman’s companion in Half-Life 2, in a story set five years before her appearance in that game. Developed exclusively for VR headsets, it is an FPS game that launched to great success.
