The gaming community is preparing to sound the alarm again after dataminers this week uncovered files in Counter-Strike 2<\/em> and Dota 2<\/em> that may point to continued work on the fabled Half-Life 3<\/em>. Alongside a supposed leak from a voice actor, it’s the best evidence in years that we could eventually return to the Half-Life<\/em> universe.<\/p>
Content creator and dataminer Tyler McVicker detailed his findings in a YouTube video<\/a> on Aug. 4, showcasing numerous files from recent CS2<\/a><\/em> and Dota<\/a><\/em> updates that reference terms last seen in Half-Life 2<\/em> and Half-Life: Alyx<\/em>. Some of these terms, McVicker explains, didn’t make the cut for the release of the Half-Life<\/em> VR title but uncovered data confirms Valve has continued to test these features on the Source 2 engine.<\/p>
The data all stems from a project titled “HLX,” which McVicker said wasn’t speculated to be a new game but more like a new line of features or a file format for the Valve engine, but further digging revealed there was more to the puzzle\u2014and it all wasn’t related to Deadlock<\/a><\/em>, Valve’s yet-to-be-announced MOBA hero shooter<\/a>. <\/p>
Adding fuel to the fires of speculation was a discovery made by a member of a gaming leaks subreddit<\/a> with a link to voice actor Natasha Chandel’s main website. Chandel’s resume<\/a> included a line for “Project White Sands,” a game without a release date created by Valve. Chandel has a storied history voicing characters across media and television, including work in Fallout 76<\/em>, Starfield<\/em>, VALORANT<\/em>, and Apex Legends<\/em>.<\/p>
