Few video games can elicit the same particular blend of excitement, frustration, and disappointment as Half-Life 3, and after The Game Awards 2025, it looks like this will continue to be the case. Indeed, as sad as it is, Half-Life 3 was not, in the end, revealed at the event.
While there has been rampant speculation and rumor-mongering about Half-Life 3 for decades, the Game Awards chatter felt a little different. Leaks regarding a possible Half-Life 3 Game Awards trailer sprung back in October, after industry insiders like Tyler McVicker claimed that a significant announcement from Valve was imminent. While McVicker and others suggested that this announcement would be for HL3, it would appear that the “big announcement” many were referring to was actually the reveal of the Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame in November. Still, other reporters, mainly Mike Straw of Insider Claiming, remained steadfast in their claims that Half-Life 3 would be revealed before the end of 2025, and what better venue for such a momentous reveal than The Game Awards themselves?
Valve has been known to leak false information to snuff out leakers, which added another layer of doubt to these Half-Life 3 trailer rumors.
Rumor: Half-Life 3 Announcement ‘Could Be Any Day’ Now
A new rumor suggests that Half-Life 3’s official announcement ‘could be any day.’
After Months of Speculation, Half-Life 3 Didn’t Show Up at The Game Awards After All
In the end, the skeptics had the right of it, as The Game Awards 2025 did not include a trailer, reveal, announcement, or even teaser for Half-Life 3, leaving fans disappointed once again. Many gamers expected—perhaps unreasonably, in hindsight—that HL3 would be The Game Awards’ “one last thing,” a surprise trailer to cap off the end of the night. There was no “one last thing” as such, and the final reveal of the night wound up being Highguard, a new shooter from former Respawn developers.
Will Half-Life 3 Ever Come Out?
According to the aforementioned industry reporters, Half-Life 3 is expected to release at some point in the future, and may still show its face before the year is over. Mike Straw’s repeated comments about the game being unveiled before the end of the year hang like a pall after Valve no-showed The Game Awards, but anything’s possible. The developer still could decide to unveil Half-Life 3 independently before the end of December.
Then again, it seems questionable to pass up the chance to show Half-Life 3 at the highly visible The Game Awards, especially if the plan is just to release the trailer a few weeks later. If Valve really is feeding false information to leakers, then it will continue to be quite difficult to nail down a firm release window. The wait for HL3 is back on, until further notice.
