The much-awaited next installment to Valve's survival first-person shooter "Half-Life" has reached near-mythical status that speculations have surfaced, with fans and observers patiently trying to distinguish fact from fiction.
Meanwhile, it doesn't help that Valve itself is not discussing anything remotely connected about "Half-Life 3," not even answering yes-or-no questions directly.
However, while Valve seems to have taken the next "Half-Life" to the back burner, the developer is still aware of the impact that "Half-Life" brought to fans and is instantly on guard and quick to disparage some of the out-of-this-world speculations.
In a recent report by Forbes, it is mentioned how Valve was quick to shoot down rumors saying it is afraid of releasing "Half-Life 3" because of the backlash that came from "Mass Effect 3."
Answering a fan question, "Half-Life" writer Marc Laidlaw said, "I can't comment on Valve's internal process but it sounds like someone is trolling. Anonymous sources have been posting speculation masquerading as inside knowledge since the 'Half-Life 1' delay in 1997. If it's any comfort, please rest assured that in my experience at Valve, fear is the last thing that would ever drive a decision about what to work on."
In addition, Valve also dismissed that idea that "Half-Life 3" is being shelved in favor or more enticing, quick money-making titles.
"Half-Life 3" is one of the games that observers call "vaporware," titles where speculations and rumors always seem to float around even if the developers of parent company have been silent for some time. Some of the vaporware that fans have been waiting for include either a reboot or new title for "Duke Nukem."
Meanwhile, numerous reports have been attributed to the "Half-Life 3" myth, the most recent of which is that it was confirmed that the title is already coming out, based on leaked text files unearthed from another Valve masterpiece, "Dota 2."
