On the night of December 13, the Game Awards 2024 will be presented. The prestigious show is associated with countless trailers and brand-new announcements every year. Often, the first leaks circulate on the internet hours before the event. This year, there is a leak that few people are likely to believe.
What kind of leak is this? According to the X user “Nima Zeighami,” Gabe Newell, the head of Valve, might appear at the Game Awards to announce Half-Life 3. The user heard this from someone who is “well-connected” in the gaming industry. However, the person in question is not an employee at Valve, and he himself does not believe the rumor (via X.com).
An announcement of Half-Life 3 would probably be the biggest news of the year, as fans have been waiting for 20 years for a new installment of the beloved shooter – so far in vain. Both Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2 are still considered absolute classics and two of the best shooters of all time. Both titles have at least 96% positive reviews on Steam – that’s extremely strong.
Currently, Valve is mainly focused on the development of their new MOBA shooter Deadlock:
The leak is so absurd it could pass for satire
How credible is the leak? Not at all. In recent years, there have been similar rumors and a burning hope among fans, but none of these rumors have materialized so far.
Moreover, the “leaker” is not a known insider in the industry, such as Tom Henderson or journalist Jason Schreier. Nima Zeighani is working as Vice President for the “Reality Studios” at the company “Infinite Reality” (via LinkedIn). The company develops technologies that resemble the Metaverse from Meta.
We have not been able to find any connection of Zeighani to the gaming industry so far.
Since the “leak” sounds so incredibly absurd and unrealistic, it could almost pass for satire – perhaps as a critique or mockery of the Game Awards and the promised big announcements. For example, Jason Schreier, who works as a well-connected gaming journalist for Bloomberg, stated that there will be at least 2 big announcements this year. The most important info about the show can be found here: Game Awards 2024: Nominations, time, and how you can vote
