Here we go again: Half-Life 3 mentions appear in Dota 2, CS2 dataminions

The gaming community is preparing to sound the alarm again after data miners discovered files in Counterattack 2 And Dota2 that may indicate continued work on the legendary Half-Life 3. Besides a supposed voice actor leak, it’s the best evidence in years that we could eventually return to the Half-life universe.

Content creator and data miner Tyler McVicker detailed his findings in a YouTube video on August 4, reviewing numerous files from recent CS2 And Dota updates that reference terms last seen in Half-Life 2 And Half-life: Alyx. Some of these terms, McVicker explains, made the cut for the release of the Half-life VR title, but unreleased details confirm that Valve has continued to test these features on the Source 2 engine.

The data all comes from a project called “HLX,” which McVicker said wasn’t about a new game, but rather a new set of features or a file format for the Valve engine. But further digging revealed that there was more to the puzzle, and it wasn’t all related DeadlockValve’s yet-to-be-announced MOBA hero shooter.

“For a time, many of these new features were attributed to (Deadlock)” McVicker said, but many of these Half-life Mentions are missing from previous versions of the shooter.

Adding fuel to the fire of speculation was a discovery by a member of the gaming leaks subreddit that included a link to the main website of voice actor Natasha Chandel. Chandel’s resume included a line for “Project White Sands,” a game with no release date set and made by Valve. Chandel has a rich history as a voice actor in media and television, including work in Autumn 76, Star field, DIGESTIVEAnd Apex Legends.

Reference to the Valve project has since been removed from Chandel’s website, but this, combined with McVicker’s datamined information, has theorists in a frenzy. “These are the kind of leaks that are always nice, a legitimate first-hand source that isn’t filtered through some influencer vaguely trying to post for engagement,” said one reader.

We’re not exactly getting ahead of ourselves Half-Life 3 not yet (every gamer has learned his lesson there), but there is more to the rumors than meets the eye and everyone will continue to follow Valve with great interest and bated breath in the coming months.