Gaming giant Valve is reportedly preparing to break its silence with a significant announcement scheduled for later today, according to multiple industry insiders. The revelation has sent shockwaves through the gaming community, with many hoping this could finally mark the long-awaited return of the Half-Life franchise.
The Insider Evidence Mounts
Several reliable sources have independently pointed toward Wednesday, November 12 as the date for Valve's mysterious reveal. Leading the charge is leaker Brad Lynch, known online as SadlyItsBradley, who claimed in a Discord post that he'd been 'told by a few sources' to 'keep an eye out on this week'.
Lynch specifically named Wednesday, November 12, though he initially focused his predictions on the unveiling of Steam Frame - Valve's rumoured new VR headset previously codenamed Deckard.
The speculation gained further credibility when YouTube channel Moore's Law Is Dead explicitly stated: 'If you're a fan of @valvesoftware, check the news in around 16 hours...' Based on the timing of this tweet, this would place the expected announcement around 6pm or 7pm UK time.
What We Know About Steam Frame
The primary subject of today's anticipated reveal appears to be Valve's new VR hardware. Comprehensive Reddit posts have documented the Steam Frame rumours extensively, suggesting this could be Valve's follow-up to their critically acclaimed Valve Index headset.
Interestingly, Lynch also shared an AI-generated mock-up of what appears to be a new Steam Controller last week. The image was 'trained on a real image of the new controller' according to the leaker, who clarified he wasn't posting the original to protect his sources.
The controller is said to feature capacitive sensing technology that can detect how far users' hands are from the handles, though it won't include full finger tracking like the Index controllers.
The Half-Life Connection
While hardware appears to be the main focus, the gaming community's attention has firmly shifted toward the possibility of new Half-Life content. Valve's pattern of releasing major games alongside hardware has fans particularly excited.
The Valve Index launched in June 2019, followed just nine months later by the groundbreaking VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx in March 2020. This precedent has many hoping that Steam Frame's reveal could signal another Half-Life project in development.
Valve themselves have previously stated that they see Half-Life: Alyx as the 'return to this world, not the end of it', further fuelling speculation that more projects are in the pipeline. Rumours suggest the company has been working on another Half-Life VR experience alongside the mythical Half-Life 3.
Other potential projects floating around Valve headquarters include talk of a Steam OS console (codenamed Fremont), Team Fortress 3, Left 4 Dead 3, and the unannounced third-person shooter Deadlock, which underwent invite-only testing last year.
While today's announcement will likely focus on the Steam Frame hardware, the timing and Valve's history suggest this could be the beginning of another major gaming reveal cycle. UK gamers are advised to keep their eyes on Valve's official channels this evening for what could be one of the biggest gaming announcements of the year.
