Insider Shares Positive Half-Life 3 Update As Hype Reaches Critical Level

Half-life 3 is still on course to be announced by the end of 2025, a well-known industry insider said. The claim, offered along with some other alleged details about the rumored game reveal, feels like hype for Half-life 3 reaches a 17-year high based on publicly available data.

An ongoing wave Half-life 3 rumors began in August 2024, when well-known dataminer GabeFollower discovered references to the long-awaited, oft-rebooted project in the codebases of other Valve games. In the months that followed, several industry sources supported the existence of yet another Half-life 3 iteration, with some suggesting that this version advanced further than any previous attempt at a third main series Half-life title. Among them is Insider Gaming senior editor Mike Straw, who has repeatedly claimed that Valve will make at least one more major announcement shortly after unveiling the new Steam Machine in mid-November. He later clarified what he meant Half-life 3 in a Nov. 20 tweet.

So far, all the Half-Life 3 rumors and leaks

Half-Life 3 rumors and leaks have reached new heights as the long-awaited next chapter in the FPS franchise seems more likely than ever.

Insider has doubled down on the timing of the Half-Life 3 announcement

The straw doubled over on him Half-life 3 claim the timing of the announcement during the latest episode of the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast. He discussed the project starting around 30 minutes into the November 21st episode and reiterated his belief that Half-life 3 will be announced within a few weeks, before the end of 2025. Straw said he is currently working to verify the exact date of the announcement and shared some insight into why it has been challenging.

Valve is reportedly trying to weed out Half-Life 3 leakers

The reporter said he had received one potential announcement date from a single source, but was unable to independently verify it. This lack of confirmation is why he is currently unwilling to report it. He also suspects that Valve may have shared various data with multiple individuals in an effort to identify leaks. Commonly known as a canary trap, this leak suppression tactic has likely been used by Valve in the past, as a flurry of inaccurate Half-Life: Alyx leaks that appeared online shortly before the VR game was announced in November 2019.

half-life of 3 reports of reputation in weeks

Half-Life 3 will most likely not be announced at The Game Awards 2025

While Straw is still waiting Half-life 3 is set to be announced before the end of the year, he doesn't believe it will happen at The Game Awards, the biggest remaining gaming event of 2025. He raised the possibility of Valve showing off the game at TGA 2025, but only if it was already revealed before the December 11th event. Such a move would be in line with typical industry conventions as a high-profile company reveals itself Half-life 3 could overshadow the rest of the show – potentially frustrating other publishers who pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to have their trailers appear at the Geoff Keighley-hosted event.

Half-Life 3 Hype is at a 17-year high

According to Google Trends, global search volume for “Half-Life 3” is at its highest level in 17 years – since August 2008, when it has since been canceled Half-Life 2: Episode Three it was rumored to be revealed at next month's E3, which ended up not happening. Wikipedia pages related to the iconic Valve franchise have also seen a significant increase in traffic since mid-November 2025, according to the platform's official Pageviews Analysis tool.