'Left 4 Dead 3' release date, news and update: Is Valve working on 'Left 4 Dead 3' right now?

Has Valve learned how to count to three yet? Gamers know that Valve has yet to release a game with the number "3" on it. Despite the never-ceasing demand for "Half-Life 3," the company never worked on it and fans have been waiting for the game to come out for over a decade now. At least "Portal" and "Left 4 Dead" fans haven't been waiting that long. Will Valve come up with "Left 4 Dead 3"? According to a number of sources, the answer appears to be "yes."

Reports have been saying that certain features, campaigns and characters in the game have already been revealed — but these were news from a year ago. The fact of the matter is, there hasn't been any concrete evidence that Valve is working on "Left 4 Dead 3."

Back in July, VG247 reported that they have heard rumors saying "Left 4 Dead 3" might come out in 2017. It remains to be seen if this will happen.

Fresh rumors of a third "Left 4 Dead" game started circulating online when Valve employee Tristan Reidford posted a tutorial on how to import assets from source engine games into the company's Destinations platform. Eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed that the top left folder shown on Reidford's screenshot was labeled "left4dead3." The image was promptly deleted, but word already got out by the time it was removed.

Now, the question is: Was that a legitimate leak? Or was Reidford toying with fans who have been asking Valve to make a sequel for so long now? It is also possible that Valve may have planned this all along to hype up the game. But it should be noted that this happened back in July and there haven't been any other credible "leaks" since then.

Right now, Valve has yet to announce that "Left 4 Dead 3" is under development. Until they make a confirmation, all reports regarding the game are rumors at best, so readers are advised to take everything with a grain of salt.