Gee, isn't Valve busy right now? Between the Steam Deck, VR stuff, and even overhauling Steam's long-neglected mobile app... (opens in new tab), you'd be forgiven for thinking the company had enough going on to not feel the need to create new projects. And you'd be wrong, because a new trademark that Valve has applied for (opens in new tab) on October 10th he accidentally announced the existence of something called Neon Prime.
The application, which is still being processed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, identifies Neon Prime as belonging to "Computer game software, electronic game software, video game software, computer game programs downloadable from the Internet." My remarkable powers of deduction tell me this means it has something to do with video games and video game software, and the internet seems to agree: there are already rumors (opens in new tab) that Neon Prime could be a new game – or even a series – from Valve.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As tempting as it is to make bold predictions about what Valve is up to, the number of things that could fall under the umbrella of "computer gaming software" is enormous. It could be just a new tool, some kind of anti-cheat, or new software for the Steam Deck. But hey, you can call it Half-Life 3 if that's what makes you happy. I won't stop you.
It's also worth remembering that trademarks are filed all the time and then not used. Even if it's an embryonic idea for a new game, any plans Valve has for Neon Prime could take years or never see the light of day. Valve might even think Neon Prime is a really cool name and want to identify it before someone else does. The possibilities for being discouraged are endless.
Still, it's fun to speculate, right? And Valve has been incredibly active lately. Heck, we got our first Half-Life game in 13 years when Half-Life: Alyx (opens in new tab) released in 2020. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that we could see a new Valve game in its current state. Perhaps a game made primarily for the Steam Deck? Hey, now that I think about it, 'Neon Prime' has the same number of characters as 'Half-Life 3'. Let the rumor mill churn.
