'Half-Life 3' release date rumors: Third installment likely to be released in 2018?

The highly anticipated "Half-Life 3" has been one of the favorite subjects when it comes to video game rumors and speculations. According to the latest reports, game developer Valve is said to be working on the third installment right now to make sure the new game title is ready for a full VR support during its rumored release in 2018.

There are speculations circulating online that Valve has been planning to bring the second sequel of the popular video game series on VR. Although nothing has been set in stone yet, fans and critics believe that the company has already tapped HTC to help them with the project. While the VR system has yet to conquer the gaming business, industry observers have already predicted that the technology will soon become big in time for the big release of "Half-Life 3" in 2018.

Nonetheless, there reports saying that the company could not accommodate the development of a new "Half-Life" game as of the moment as their focus is currently on other projects. The last title of the franchise was released in 2004. Many fans believe that a third installment of the series is already overdue, which led some players to believe that the new game will no longer be released.

One of the major factors that led fans to think that the series is already over is the departure of Marc Laidlaw, the franchise creative writer. Laidlaw's departure is a major blow to the company's plan to release a new game title in the series.

Meanwhile, during his recent interview, Valve's CEO Gabe Newell explained that the only time he would allow the company to develop a sequel of a classic game is when someone from the Valve comes up with a good idea how to do it.

"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," said Newell in a report by The News Independent.