A message as mysterious as the G-Man himself (Valve)
A New Year’s message from Half-Life’s G-Man mentions ‘unexpected surprises,’ sparking hopes of a Half-Life 3 reveal in 2025.
Could 2025 finally be the year of Half-Life 3? Rumours of a new sequel have admittedly persisted for years even before Valve returned to the series with Half-Life: Alyx, but they’ve notably been getting bolder lately.
Valve insiders have repeatedly claimed Half-Life 3 is in development based on evidence datamined from other Valve games. Right before the end of 2024, it was also said the game had been in the playtesting phase for months.
There was chatter of a Half-Life 3 reveal at The Game Awards 2024, which obviously didn’t happen, but some fans are now thinking an announcement will happen later this year thanks to the actor behind Half-Life’s G-Man.
For context, the G-Man is an iconic recurring character in the Half-Life games, known for being a mysterious individual whose motives still have yet to be explained.
He has been voiced by one Mike Shapiro since his first appearance in the original Half-Life. And on December 31, Shapiro posted an audio message to his X account; one in which he uses his G-Man voice and talks of ‘unexpected surprises.’
Specifically, Shapiro says, ‘May the next quarter-century deliver as many unexpected surprises as did the millennium’s first. Then again, time is fluid, like music. See you in the new year.’
While it could be written off as a simple New Year’s message, Shapiro included hashtags for both Valve and Half-Life. Plus, his X account has been inactive since December 2020.
Valve celebrated Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary back in November (Valve)
The message is also accompanied by the sound of a ticking clock and a close-up of some artwork that fans have identified as the cover art for Shapiro’s latest single Best Long Dog, which released on services like Spotify on December 16, 2024, and doesn’t seem to have any relation to Half-Life.
Voice actors typically aren’t the most reliable sources of information when it comes to new game announcements. But, between the phrasing, use of hashtags, and the fact this is the first thing Shapiro has shared to X in over four years, it’s easy to believe he’s explicitly teasing something related to Half-Life is happening in 2025.
It’s entirely plausible Shapiro has recorded dialogue for a new game. After all, he did return as the G-Man in Half-Life: Alyx, though if that’s the case, is it for Half-Life 3 or something else?
There has been chatter of Half-Life: Alyx getting a sequel as well, which would make sense considering the game was a commercial success for Valve. At the very least, Half-Life: Alyx was described by Valve as ‘our return to this world, not the end of it,’ suggesting more Half-Life games would follow.
Still, it’s near impossible to predict what Valve has planned. Even if it does have a new Half-Life game in the works, there’s no guarantee Valve won’t wind up cancelling it like it’s done with past iterations of Half-Life 3.
Half-Life: Alyx’s story certainly teased more adventures would follow (Valve)
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