4 min read
The gaming world is officially in a frenzy. Today, December 2, 2025, marks a peak in speculation ahead of The Game Awards. Show host Geoff Keighley has launched an elaborate real-world treasure hunt, while Valve has inadvertently fueled rumours about the industry’s most elusive sequel, Half-Life 3.
Here is everything you need to know about the desert discovery and the new Steam Machine leaks.
The “Regal.Inspiring.Thickness” Mystery
It started with a cryptic post. Geoff Keighley shared a mysterious image with the three-word caption: “regal.inspiring.thickness”. While it sounded like a bizarre haiku, fans quickly realised it was a What3Words address.
regal.inspiring.thickness pic.twitter.com/lY1duUcE1B
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) November 29, 2025
The coordinates pointed to a barren patch of land in the Mojave Desert, California, specifically at the corner of 29 Palms Highway and Yucca Mesa Road near Joshua Tree. Brave fans ventured to the location and discovered a massive, physical statue standing in the sand.
This is that full teaser that Geoff Keighley posted today.
At 0:30 in the bottom left looks like Jormangandur, The World Serpant.
Either this is a new norse IP (unlikely) or 1000% a new God of War being teased pic.twitter.com/EfWqCpYl4D
— Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) November 29, 2025
The structure is grotesque. It features armoured corpses climbing over one another, mixed with demonic entities and animal faces. One specific detail, a crocodile face, led some fans to believe this teased a God of War game set in Egypt. Others, desperate for news after seven long years since the 2018 E3 teaser, prayed it was The Elder Scrolls 6.
However, the reality seems much darker. At night, the statue glows with an ominous red hue. The structure includes “doors” made of ribcages. These visual cues match the art style of Blizzard’s Diablo 4. Consequently, the leading theory is that this marketing stunt signals a major Diablo 4 expansion reveal, rather than a new God of War, Elder Scrolls, or Half-Life 3 title.
The statue is lighting up at night!
From all the evidence, this is most likely Diablo 4 Expansion, not God of War. As Diablo fans have pointed out that the demons match D4’s designs.
Still hopeful that this ends up being something else but so far, this is the conclusion. https://t.co/RhMAz9vcyU pic.twitter.com/T6TC28s4gD
— Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) November 30, 2025
Valve’s “Fremont” Codename Reignites Half-Life 3 Rumours
While Keighley plays mind games in the desert, Valve has captured attention with hardware news. Valve officially revealed a new Steam Machine slated for early 2026. This console-like PC boasts impressive specs, including a Zen 4 CPU, RDNA3 GPU, and 6 times the power of the Steam Deck.
But the hardware isn’t the main story. The system’s internal codename is Fremont. Long-time fans immediately recognised the significance. In 2017, former Valve writer Marc Laidlaw released “Epistle 3”, a disguised plot summary for the cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode 3. In that story, the character standing in for protagonist Gordon Freeman was named Gertrude Fremont.
Valve Fremont recap: a TV focused PC box/console running SteamOS. Has dedicated HDMI port
Has a semi-custom CPU based on Hawk Point 2. But with a removed iGPU
Has custom Valve mobo/case. And dedicated RX 7600 GPU (No shared RAM)
Geekbench is from Taiwan (Quanta factory debug) https://t.co/IdQvrWELo3 pic.twitter.com/Iywej8EClj
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) August 20, 2025
This choice of codename feels deliberate. Furthermore, recent reports from Insider Gaming and Valve insider Tyler McVicker suggest a major announcement is imminent. McVicker previously claimed Half-Life 3 was close to completion. Combined with the “Fremont” codename, speculation is at an all-time high that the new hardware is built to launch the long-awaited sequel.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled!
The answers are to be revealed soon. The Game Awards 2025 airs on December 11, 07:30 PM EST / December 12, 5:30 AM Pakistan Standard Time.
Whether it’s a return to Sanctuary in Diablo 4 or the near-impossible reveal of Half-Life 3, Geoff Keighley surely knows how to put on a show.
