Valve has just announced the price and release date of the Steam Machine. The Steam Machine is available right now for $1049. And, to the surprise of no one, Valve did not announce a new Half-Life game. So, no. Half-Life 3 is not a launch game for the Steam Machine.

This whole situation with HL3 is hilarious. In 2025, “leakers” and “YouTubers” were claiming that  Half-Life 3 would be revealed during Summer Game Fest 2025. When that did not happen, they stated that Valve would announce it alongside the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.

To the surprise of no one, Valve did not announce Half-Life 3 in November 2025. And the goalpost was moved. The same and new “leakers” and “insiders” were claiming that HL3 would be announced the moment Valve reveals the release date and price of the Steam Machine. They were certain that it would be a launch game for it. And they were wrong… again.

This is exactly why I’ve been telling you to temper your expectations. It’s really easy to spread rumors about Half-Life 3. It’s one of the easiest ways to generate traffic. And it has been proven again and again that all these “leakers” are full of sh*t. So, you should stop giving them views as they simply take advantage of you.

Now, some of you may say, “But John, you’re making the exact same thing with this article”. Oh, no no no. I’m not spreading any fake rumors. I’m not saying I have “new inside information” that was pulled out of my a*s. I’m simply having a lot of fun with this whole thing. Because why should I? This whole situation is hilarious.

This is the fourth or fifth time in just two years that the leakers will be moving the goalpost. They will now say that Valve will announce it at the Game Awards 2026 show. I don’t believe there is any idiot who will say that Valve will announce it at Gamescom 2026.

So, there you have it. No Half-Life 3 for you. For those who have not been living in a bubble, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. So, it serves you right for believing whatever you read online. Let this be a lesson for you. Until you hear it from Valve itself, Half-Life 3 is a nothing-burger and nothing more.

Speaking of Half-Life, there are some cool mods that you can download for the first Half-Life game. For instance, you can download Brutal Half-Life. Then we have a mod that adds Full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing to it. This is a must for everyone who wants to re-experience the main game, so be sure to download it.

Now, if you don’t want Path Tracing, you can use this AI-enhanced HD Texture Pack. This pack will overhaul all of the game’s textures. However, its lighting won’t change in any way. Thus, you’ll get an experience closer to the vanilla game.

Halo: GoldSource is a fan-made game that brings Halo’s gameplay into the Half-Life engine. It has two main modes: Slayer and Firefight. You’ll find lots of classic Halo maps and some new ones made just for Firefight. Plus, you can use many cool Halo weapons.

Finally, we have Half-Life: Delta. Half-Life: Delta is a Total Conversion Mod, featuring 4 chapters and 31 gameplay maps. Black Mesa: Military is another cool mod that lets you experience the events of Half-Life from the point of view of a marine. Oh, and there is a new Aliens-based TC Mod, called Solitary Echoes.

Stay tuned for more!