Valve sound designer accidentally mentioned HLX during a public lecture

Valve composer and sound designer Mike Morasky said the codename HLX out loud at GameSoundCon. Valve has never officially acknowledged that the game exists, and the slip came in passing, in the middle of a talk about the studio audio tech. The reaction from Morasky's colleague made the moment even funnier.

The talk covered the HDR audio system, meaning high dynamic range sound. Broadly, this tech balances volume on the fly so explosions, gunfire, and quiet footsteps don't drown each other out. According to Morasky, different Valve games got their own modified versions of the system:

Actually, I think Deadlock has its own version of HDR. HLX has its own version. And so on.

David Feise, Valve sound designer and co-presenter of the talk, immediately whispered what sounds like "Nice work" and hurried to steer the conversation elsewhere. It came across more like a wry "nice going" than actual praise.

The name HLX has been popping up in Valve game files and datamining leaks for a long time. Rumor has it the codename hides a new full-fledged Half-Life entry, and unlike Half-Life: Alyx from 2020, it isn't VR. Most fans are convinced it's the long-awaited Half-Life 3, a game people have been waiting on since Half-Life 2: Episode Two came out in 2007.

Morasky wrote music for Half-Life: Alyx, Portal 2, and Team Fortress 2, so mixing up a working title with something unrelated seems unlikely. Valve, naturally, hasn't commented on the slip.

The game was supposedly due to be announced already, but according to reporter Tyler McVicker, something in HL3 wasn't up to the required standard, and Valve pushed back the timeline to get it right. McVicker, as always, asks everyone to take this with a grain of salt, since it all rests on rumors and speculation.