'Half-Life 3' release date, rumors: Gamescom prank prompts more speculations; Valve to release game in 2018?

A single colon can really make a world of difference.

After a misleading "Half-Life 3" banner appeared at the recently concluded Gamescom 2016 in Germany, anticipation for the third installment to the massively successful first-person shooter game has built up to a near fever pitch.

Hopeful fans who saw the promotional banner with the familiar orange of the "Half-Life" franchise could have easily mistaken the huge "Half-Life: 3" label on it as an indication of an official Gamescom launch, but closer inspection would reveal an entirely different story. Additional text at the bottom of the title translated the entire advertisement to "Half-Life: 3 editors who played it back then," referring to three editors who played the game, and not at all about the highly anticipated game's release.

This expensive prank, financed by spieletipps and GIGA games, was reportedly inspired by an old prank thread at NeoGAF titled, "First Half-Life: 3 screenshots," which featured three screenshots from the first "Half-Life" game instead of a sneak peak for "Half-Life 3."

"Half-Life" game developer, Valve, has yet to comment on this matter. They have also been keeping details about a possible "Half-Life 3" tightly under wraps, prompting speculations and rumors about the anticipated installment's feasibility.

Back in February, Eurogamers reported references to "Half-Life 3" found within the files of a performance test released by Valve. And the renewed interest that this has generated for the game has continued to increase in the following months.

In July, one of Valve's newest hardware engineer, Alan Yates, hinted on the growth of Valve's AR/VR research team, promptly leading to speculations that "Half-Life 3" could become a virtual reality experience if and when it is finally released.

But Neurogadget has since raised concerns about "Half-Life's" creative writer not working for Valve anymore. And there's also Valve CEO Gabe Newell stating that unless a significant amount of people within the company find legitimate reasons to go back and rework a classic product, a project such as "Half-Life 3" may not find its way into Valve's upcoming game roster just yet.

However, fans are still hoping for a third "Half-Life" game, especially after Valve reportedly leased a bigger office space for its operations at Lincoln Square. Latest rumors are placing the highly anticipated game's release in 2018, in time for "Half-Life's" 20th anniversary.