A follow-up to Half-Life: Alyx appears to have been leaked by Valve, according to a new report.
In a new video, Valve dataminer and reporter Tyler McVicker outlines recent changes to another rumoured Valve VR project, known as Citadel. The new code is related to Half-Life VR, outlining hand attachments and grenade states, which "appear to be additions to the HLVR formula, for an unknown reason," and are marked as 'HLVR/HLX'.
McVicker states that HLX is a brand-new codename, "based on the framework built originally on Half-Life: Alyx," but is part of a new ecosystem, which the report claims is a follow-up to the original Half-Life VR game.
Based on that information, McVicker says "there appears to be two virtual reality content teams moving simultaneously under Valve's umbrella." One of those is working on the oft-rumoured Citadel, while the other is working on 'HLX'. McVicker claims that this project "would have to be a successor to Half-Life: Alyx," as it's "just Half-Life: Alyx's mechanics but improved, expanded, and iterated on." He goes on to outline a number of recently datamined files which would relate to one or both of these projects, including water physics, enemy types, and dynamic weather and lighting.
Valve hasn't said anything regarding a potential follow-up or sequel to Half-Life: Alyx, and it's very possible that the development work uncovered by McVicker could come to nothing, so in lieu of an official announcement, take all this with a pinch of salt. That said, the studio's foray into VR was very well-received, and with project lead Robin Walker recently claiming that the title was the end of the Half-Life series' "narrative limbo," the stage is set for Valve to return to its most famous franchise.
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