'Half-Life 3' release date news 2016: VR-ready version due for release in 2018 to mark game's 20th anniversary?

More than 10 years after the last installment was released, fans are still hoping that rumors about "Half-Life 3" would finally bear fruit, if not this year, then in the coming years. However, it looks like the game's developer, Valve, have other things in mind than coming out with "Half-Life 3."

According to reports, Valve's immediate focus is directed on other projects. What's more, the creative writer behind the first two installments of "Half Life," Marc Laidlaw is no longer with Valve, further making the possibility of a "Half-Life 3" bleak.

Previously, Valve's CEO, Gabe Newell, talked to The News Independent, and in the interview, he said that the only reason they would consider doing a "super classic" game is if there is a plausible explanation behind the move.

"The only reason we'd go back and do like a super classic kind of product is if a whole bunch of people just internally at Valve said they wanted to do it and had a reasonable explanation for why," he said.

Since Valve is apparently more focused on developing something more in tune with the times, there could be the slimmest chance that fans would see "Half-Life 3" in virtual reality (VR) format. Almost all newly launched games all have VR formats, so Valve can easily follow suit and adopt the same technology.

Game n Guide insinuated that a post by Valve hardware engineer Alan Yates could be a hint that "Half-Life 3" is being developed in VR format. Apparently, Yates said he has begun work with the AR/VR research team, which is composed of only a third of Valve's workforce. The team is considerably smaller, and if a VR-ready "Half-Life 3" is to be assumed, then fans could expect progress for the game at a snail's pace.

Still, one-third of Valve's total workforce working exclusively on "Half Life 3" is better than seeing the development of the game at a standstill.

While all these speculations and assumptions should be taken with a grain of salt, it's noteworthy to point out that, should "Half-Life 3" be, indeed, released in VR format in 2018, it would be the perfect gift to mark the game's 20th anniversary.