A Valve developer has said “HLX” out loud in public, apparently by accident, during a panel at GameSoundCon, an industry conference focused on game audio, Ars Technica reports.
The slip came from Valve composer and audio artist Mike Morasky during a panel on Valve’s use of open audio engines, which was captured on video. Talking about how the company handles high dynamic range audio, Morasky said: “I think Deadlock has their own version of HDR. HLX has its own version, so on and so forth.”
HLX has been widely reported as the internal codename for Valve’s next Half-Life project, and it has shown up in Valve engine code since at least 2024. According to Ars Technica, this is the first time a Valve employee has referenced it in public. Valve has not officially said what HLX is.
A teammate noticed
In the video, fellow panelist and Valve sound designer David Feise can be seen mumbling a sarcastic “nice work” to Morasky after the codename comes out. As the audience applauds at the end of the question session, Feise leans in and appears to say, “Good job, you only said HLX once!”
The mention does not amount to an announcement. Valve has not revealed a new Half-Life game, and no release window has been given. Ars Technica notes that predictions of a Half-Life 3 reveal alongside the Steam Machine launch did not pan out, and longtime Valve watcher Tyler McVicker has said in a recent video that he no longer expects HLX to be announced this calendar year.
