"Half Life 3" continues to be the one game shrouded in so much mystery that fans simply cannot get a read on when it might be coming out, and unfortunately, that may be continuing for a while.
Recently, fans stumbled upon an interesting text document that was included in a "Dota 2" update.
The text file repeatedly made references to things such as ziplines and VR, elements that fans will recognize as parts of the "Half Life" universe, according to iDigital Times.
On top of that, the text file itself was named "hl3.txt," a name that can be easily interpreted as meaning "Half Life 3." Fans understandably got excited by the find and assumed that it was a file for the long awaited sequel to "Half Life 2."
Unfortunately, fans may have gotten excited about nothing.
According to the Venture Capital Post, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell himself recently issued a statement regarding the latest rumors and definitively said that "Half Life 3" was not in development. Newell also indicated that he was caught off guard by just how much interest has continued to revolve around "Half Life 3." Nonetheless, he reiterated that the game itself is still not scheduled to come out anytime soon.
It's unclear why Valve may be holding off on developing a game that would seem to be such a sure hit, although that may have something to do with the company's plan for other titles.
According to The Bitbag, Valve is currently more focused on developing "Left 4 Dead 3" for now and that is being seen as a reason for why "Half Life 3" is being delayed.
"Left 4 Dead 3" is supposedly being developed and positioned to be launched sometime in 2017, and given that timeline, it would indeed be no surprise to learn that Valve is shifting all its focus toward it.
Having no "Half Life 3" would hurt for a lot of fans, but "Left 4 Dead 3" may help heal that wound just a little bit.
