Half-Life 3 could be announced on November 18, fans speculate

Last month, Valve reporter Tyler McVicker claimed that there were rumors that a Half-Life 3 trailer was in production, possibly to be released in November.

Let's soften up. Let's be very calm about a possible thing that may happen soon. Perhaps.

Well, it's November, and fans are counting down each day, biting their nails in a cocktail of excitement and the usual anxious stupor that the years of leaks will come to nothing.

But one fan, u/sameseksure, is a little more hopeful and believes they've nailed down the exact date of the rumored trailer Power drop. “Valve uses the top banner on the front of the Steam Store when they want to promote a Steam sale, Steam event, or new products like games or hardware,” they explained. “Whatever is on the front page of Steam gets a HUGE amount of exposure.

“Therefore, they will not announce anything at the same time as major Steam events,” they continued. “Notice how there is an unusually long gap between events from November 18th [to] December 8. This could mean that Valve plans to announce Half-Life 3 (or Deckard, or both) on November 18th”.

Half-Life 3 November 18 Confirmed?

Gordon Freeman stands over an orange Half-Life background.

In fact, in 2019, when Valve announced Half-Life: Alyx, it plastered the game across the front to create hype. But what's particularly interesting about Alyx is that it was announced on November 18th, the same day fans are speculating that Half-Life 3 could be revealed, given the event gap.

Upcoming events	Date
Animal party	10 – 17 November
Sports party	8 – 15 December
Winter sale	18 December – 5 January
Via SteamDB

That gives Valve, I guess is a trailer in production, a very clear window where it could announce Half-Life 3 (or HLX, as it's called in the datamined files).

Adding more fuel to the fire, Valve moved the fall sale this year to September, even though it usually takes place in November, which many fans claim is even more proof that it has quietly freed up space for a big announcement.

However, Valve explained in a Steamworks blog post that the decision was made to avoid the Autumn Sale clashing with Black Friday deals, and that The Steam Awards would still be held between November 24 and December 1.

Some are also speculating that the wider update to the store page is in preparation for Half-Life 3.

Regardless, with rumors swirling of a trailer in production, G-Man actor Mike Shapiro teasing “unexpected surprises” for 2025, and recent HLX leaks pointing to the game being in the polishing phase, an imminent announcement seems likely. Maybe this really is, and in two weeks we'll finally be able to say “Half-Life 3 confirmed” without a hint of irony.

Whatever happens, as with all Half-Life leaks, it's worth taking everything here with a grain of salt and tempering your expectations. But there is a lot of weight behind this theory – certainly more than the 197 madness.