Valve Has an Undisclosed Game in the Works, According to Its Steam Page

If you've been paying attention to the video game industry in 2024, you're probably aware of the heaps of rumors revolving around Valve and a massive, undisclosed project they're supposedly working on, with both casual gamers and renowned insiders speculating that it might actually be Half-Life 3. Recently, another clue surfaced online and, while it has nothing to do with HL3, it could confirm that one of the most secretive game studios is indeed developing a new title, and amusingly, this clue was discovered through Valve's very own Steam page.

First spotted by Reddit user Relevant_Basis5444, the studio's publisher page on Steam lists two games in the "Upcoming Releases" section: Deadlock, announced last year and currently in early access, and a mysterious second project that doesn't appear directly on the list and is hinted at only by the counter, which clearly reads that two future games are in development. Interestingly, the list also shows 11 upcoming soundtracks, 2 DLCs, and 6 hardware items, none of which are displayed, making one question as to what those might be.

Following the discovery, two main theories explaining the invisible game surfaced online. The first, and more fascinating one, as you might have guessed by now, interprets the clue as yet another confirmation of Half-Life 3 being in production, suggesting that the game's existence being revealed through Valve's own platform is not a bug, but a feature – an ARG of sorts that continues from a cryptic tweet shared by G-Man voice actor Mike Shapiro last week.

What's more, if we add up all the numbers displayed in the screenshot above, we get 26, which is just another way of writing 19+7, and if you're into the "Valve 197" conspiracy theory, that might give you chills just thinking about it.

Tinfoil hats aside, the second and more likely explanation is that it's simply a back-end bug with no deeper meaning, and it hasn't been fixed yet simply because it was overlooked by the developer. Reddit user 43eyes suggested that the invisible products glitch is specific to the Hardware and DLC tabs, noting that other publishers experience the glitch, but their game count remains accurate. However, it's nearly impossible to confirm this 100% without going through each and every publisher on Steam, and hats off to the madlads who would actually be willing to do that.

So, what do you think about the discovery? Half-Life 3 and the "197 theory" confirmed? Or is it just a bug set to be fixed in the near future? Tell us in the comments!

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