Valve employee Mike Morasky accidentally slipped up “HLX,” the codename for the company’s upcoming project that is believed to be Half-Life 3.
During a recent conference panel on game design, Valve developer Mike Morasky talked about the studio’s approach to an open and flexible audio engine. While discussing HDR, he mentioned that “Deadlock has it’s own version of HDR, while HLX has it’s own.” This is the third time he has brought up the “HLX” codename, references to which have previously been found in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Deadlock game code, and have often been linked to a potential Half-Life 3.
The full conference panel can be seen in the embedded video below. The specific comment from Mike Morasky can be heard at timestamp 57:50.
After Mike Morasky slipped up, the panel member next to him can be seen whispering something along the lines of, “Nice work” to him in a sarcastic manner.
In June, content creator Gabe Follower reported that Valve added a new variable in Dota 2 game files that asked dataminers to stop looking for clues in its lines of code. The boolean variable was named, “m_bHackWhyAreYouGuysReadingOurVariableNames.” Follower has been involved in investigating prior datamines, looking for evidence to prove the existence of Half-Life 3.
In February, Follower claimed that Half-Life 3, internally codenamed HLX, is very real and quietly progressing behind the scenes. After months of speculation, missed dates, and vanishing insiders, he argued that the most compelling evidence came via code updates to the Source 2 engine. While HLX references were intentionally excluded from shared engine branches, human error allowed some strings to slip through. These point to major game systems, such as advanced dynamic physics, gravity zones that pull in multiple directions, and environments where floors, walls, and ceilings lose their traditional meaning. NPCs are now capable of navigating these altered spaces, potentially chasing players across rotating or curved surfaces in a world like Xen.
