The Game Awards have come and gone, and even if it wasn’t slated to appear, there’s no news yet on Valve’s Half-Life 3. However, it seems that it and the upcoming Steam Machine were scheduled to release in Spring 2026 before soaring RAM prices allegedly changed Valve’s plans.
This is according to Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw, who provided an update on the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast. “People have asked. I have been told a date. I wasn’t going to report that date because they weren’t 100 percent confident in that date. That date has sailed past. So, there’s a reason I didn’t report it.
“Every date from every journalist I’ve spoken with, every creator who follows it and has dug, every single date that they were told has passed.” However, everyone is “still adamant” that Half-Life 3 is a launch title for the Steam Machine, which has yet to receive a release date.
According to Straw, PC RAM prices are the culprit. They’re currently up “200, 300, 500 percent of what they were in October, and it’s only getting worse.”
“The window that I was told was Spring 2026, for the Steam Machine, for the Steam Frame, for the Steam Controller, for Half-Life 3. […] At the end of the day, the game is real. There’s no denying it. It’s just a when and not if at this point. All the signs pointed to it being announced in December. Then everything hit the fan, and I think it was a case of that concern. The Steam Machine was supposed to be Q1, like the end of Q1 2026, but I’m starting to wonder if that hardware’s going to be pushed out.”
And for those who doubt Straw’s sources, especially in light of any new information, he responded that they’re not “run of the mill” individuals who “haven’t gotten me information before.”
“They’re the same sources that have given me details on Madden. A couple of them are the same sources that have given me details on The Lord of the Rings game that is in development, which I reported on. They’re not random, like, one-off people, and they’re still adamant that Half-Life 3 is coming in the Spring.”
Of course, until Valve actually announces it, the long-awaited sequel will remain a pipe dream for many. But given the sheer number of reports and rumors that suddenly dried up after the RAM prices increased, there’s some logic to what Straw is saying. All that’s left to do is wait and see.
