Valve Composer Confirms HLX Project Has Its Own HDR Implementation

Valve composer Mike Morasky dropped a tidbit about the internal codename for a project called HLX in a Q&A session at GameSoundCon 2026. This is the first time a Valve employee has publicly spoken about the HLX name. The revelation confirms that HLX is a real thing that has its own HDR.

Valve composer Mike Morasky publicly mentions HLX

The confirmation is valuable because gamers have been tracking the HLX codename for years. This adds credibility to a lot of community speculation.

We've seen HLX popping up in datamined Source 2 code for years now. In fact, HLX references have been discovered in the updates for games like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Valve has never officially confirmed that HLX is Half-Life 3, but the community has linked it to a potential Half-Life 3 project because of all this datamining.

Morasky says HLX has their own version of HDR. He also mentions that Deadlock has their own version of HDR. The quote makes it clear that HLX is its own thing with its own tech. Morasky doesn't give us any clues about the genre of the game or when it could potentially launch.

Valve has never shared any launch information about HLX. The public mention doesn't directly tie it to Half-Life 3. HLX is still very much a mystery to fans. We only know for sure that it's the name of a project.