'Half-Life 3' release date, rumors: Third title to support Virtual Reality

It has been more than a decade since Valve launched the second title of the "Half-Life" franchise. Though there have been no official statements from the video game developers, a third title is reportedly in the works and is bound to launch next year. If the rumors are true, the "Half-Life" title will be compatible with the latest Virtual Reality (VR) technology.

According to reports, the developers are preparing for a VR version of "Half-Life." Assets from the previous titles were used in experimenting for the VR mode.

During an update for Valve's virtual reality application "Destinations," it revealed that the game is in the works. More importantly, it hinted that the game will have virtual reality features. Curious gamers were able to find a code embedded in the update that suggested weapon details and VR controller movement.

The "HL: VR" code which recently appeared in the update was reportedly from previous VR experiments. However, gamers who found the code noticed that it was updated. Hence, the latest string of code could have been from the alleged "Half-Life" VR title.

Furthermore, curious tech junkies were able to find a strand of code "to force the HL: VR to speak" that possibly references the main protagonist Gordon Freeman, since the character doesn't speak at all.

Since Valve has yet to make a comment on the latest reports, fans of the video game franchise should treat the updates as speculation until proven otherwise.

The VR title will reportedly launch on the Steam Dev Days next year. This year's Steam Dev Days ended last week, but there was no word about the rumored title.

Valve launched its first "Half-Life" video game in 1998 for Microsoft Windows. The second title was launched in 2004.

Watch out for more updates on the alleged first-person shooter video game "Half-Life 3."