Since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 in 2007, fans of the franchise have been itching to see what’s in store for the next installment in the series. We’ve seen nothing but hints and theories about a new game being released, but no official word from Valve or affiliates have been (publicly) released.

As far as we know, Valve could not even be making the game in the first place as of now. Because of the growth of Steam and its current games, Valve has been “rolling in the dough” more than ever. Many fans are skeptical about a release because Valve simply doesn’t have to release it to keep themselves financially stable. Valve can scrap both Portal and Half-Life and still be fine.

But – back in the day of the Episodes being released, Valve announced a schedule on which they would release the games. There actually was a Half-Life 2: Episode 4 announced. But this obviously never happened. Gabe Newell (Valve’s CEO) recently was interviewed about the future of the Half-Life series. He didn’t deny or confirm the existence of the game or any future details, but he did blatantly state “it would be a bad idea.”

Even then, there has been lots of “leaked details” about the game. Even professional-looking concept art has been posted to the public. One man was given a tour through the Valve HQ and took a snapshot of one of the computers, which has files labeled “HL3.”

GDC 2015 showed a promising future for Valve with its new VR headset and API. They showed off a Portal demo in their new Source 2 engine, which will be released for free to the public next year (2016.) This created new hopes as it showed what Valve’s been working on. We questioned: So, will the next Half-Life game be focused solely on virtual reality?

Well – this only makes sense. If Valve’s making good money off of what they currently have, creating a new, experimental technology such as a virtual reality headset in partnership with HTC, this could prove a good outcome on Valve’s plans. Since 2007, lots have changed with technology and society, so we don’t know how much they’ve had to scrap and redo (if they ever started.)

Virtual reality is the next big thing, and could be the savior of our beloved Half-Life and Portal franchises. But wait – VR has two letters. How many more Half-Life games do we want? One. One plus two? Three. Half-Life 3 confirmed.

So, is Valve tricking us and the game is already almost ready for release? Has Valve been able to keep secret a new addition to one of the biggest and game-changing franchises we’ve ever seen? Will this be the best game to ever be released? We don’t know. The protestors couldn’t even get it out of them.

Thank you for reading. What are your thoughts? If you wish, leave a comment below on what you think about this topic.