'Half-Life 3' release date news: J.J. Abrams confirms 'Half-Life' films are in development

"The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams has confirmed that he is working on the upcoming "Half-Life" and "Portal" films, and that fans can expect an official announcement about the projects soon.

Several years have passed since plans to produce films based on popular video game franchises "Half-Life" and "Portal" were first announced. Gabe Newell of Valve confirmed that the films were in development during the DICE Summit in 2013. At the time, it was also announced that Abrams, who was then working on "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013) was attached to develop both video game-based films.

Since then, not much else has been revealed about the projects.

However in a recent interview with IGN at a screening for the new HBO series "Westworld," which Abrams produces, the director confirmed that the projects are ongoing.

"We have a meeting coming up next week with Valve, we're very active, I'm hoping that there will be a 'Portal' announcement fairly soon," he said.

When asked if the films would continue the storylines already existing in the video games, Abrams hedged, saying, "We are having some really interesting discussions with writers, many of whom...once you said you're doing a movie or show about a specific thing that is a known quantity you start to find people who are rabid about these things."

Meanwhile, Neurogadget suggests that despite Valve's silence about the possibility of releasing another installment in the "Half-Life" video game franchise, "Half-Life 3" is imminent and could come out sometime in 2018.

The website also notes that the delay in the sequel's production could be due to the difficulty of coming up with a good storyline for the sequel.

Game N Guide notes that a 2018 release for the third installment is likely, as it would coincide with the 20th anniversary of the original "Half-Life."

Valve has not released any official updates about a possible "Half-Life 3."