Data strings in the latest Counter-Strike 2 update hint at two new Valve games, and one of them might just be Half-Life related

(Image credit: Valve)

A Half-Life fan's favourite pastime (aside from actually playing Half-Life games) is latching onto the tiniest hope that a new Half-Life might be just around the corner. I say this as one such eternally optimistic Half-Life fan. Which is why I started vibrating with excitement at a single data string hidden in the latest Counter-Strike 2 update.

The string was uncovered by the Valve-oriented content creator "Gabe Follower". It was actually one of two chunks of code extracted from the update that hint at two different games, but we'll deal with the Half-Life one first as it’s the most specific and straightforward. In a tweet earlier this week, Gabe Follower posted an image of the code, which includes the line "type = hlx_2d_basic".

As Gabe Follower explains in the same tweet, the "hlx" part of that string is similar to the codename for Half-Life: Alyx – HLVR. But the X makes the codename considerably more vague. Could it be the codename for Half-Life 3? Possibly. Valve would certainly know that code which contained the phrase "hl3" would result in the Internet exploding, and might opt for a less loaded term.

A frankly more sensible suggestion in the replies is that the X might stand for "cross-platform", implying that hlx refers to a PSVR 2 version of Half-Life Alyx. Really though, it could be anything. Half-Life: Xen. Half-Life: Xtreme Karting, who knows?

The other code snippet Gabe Follower posts is a little meatier, with around 30 lines of code all under the heading "Citadel". Codename: Citadel is a name Valve has used before. Again, the name is Half-Lifey in its implication, but previous reports have suggested that Citadel is a multiplayer game, and the rest of the code bears this out, with lines like "EGuidedBotMatchObjective" and "CitadelLobbyPlayerSlot_t".

Whatever it is, it sure involves a lot of movement. Other lines in the code include "ELeapPhase", "EHurdleType", "EMantlePhase", and "EGrappleState". It also includes a surveillance drone, as hinted at by the line "ESurveillanceDroneState_t". Perhaps the most suggestive line in the code, however, is "HeroID_t". This suggests either a follow-up to Dota 2, or perhaps a new Team Fortress game with more of a hero shooter vibe.

Whether or not these code snippets are part of Valve's next project(s), I imagine we'll hear about whatever they're working on soon. Valve has been pretty consistent with new game releases lately, with Half-Life Alyx in 2020, Aperture Desk Job accompanying the Steam Deck in 2022, and Counter-Strike 2 last year. There's also the rumour of a new Valve VR headset on the horizon, which, if that's the case, might pave the way for the studio's next game.

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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.