'Half-Life 3' release date: 'Last of Us' creator jokes about developing the game for Valve

Neil Druckmann, writer and creative director at game studio Naughty Dog and also one of the creators of the game "Last of Us," jokingly stated via Twitter that Valve should allow his company to develop "Half-Life 3" for them, seeing that Valve has little to no interest in making the game themselves. 

"Look, Valve, all I'm saying is you give us the Half Life license and we'll take care of the rest," reads his tweet, which was a response to a photo shared by Merle Dandridge, the voice actress for the character Alyx Vance in "Half-Life 2" and its subsequent episodes. 

As pointed out by a report from IGN, the tweet is not a formal request for Naughty Dog to actually develop the game and mostly serves as a playful joke, but it has spawned an uproar in the gaming community, with fans hoping that there may be a chance the suggestion could become a reality. 

As recently reported, there are rumors of Valve putting a halt to any development for "Half-Life 3." The staff working on the game is allegedly down to around 10 people, and the game is not a priority for the company given their success with Steam and other properties such as "Team Fortress 2," "DOTA 2" and "Counter Strike: Global Offense." 

"Half-Life 2" was released as far back as 2004, with "Episode One" and "Episode Two" having been released in 2006 and 2007, respectively. "Episode Three" was rumored to be in development but was then cancelled in favor of a full-fledged sequel, but the project has reportedly been in development limbo ever since, with no release date or update from Valve. 

While Naughty Dog won't be developing "Half-Life 3," the studio will be releasing their next big title, "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End," on March 18, 2016. The game will be available in its regular retail offer, a special edition, a unique collector's edition and a digital edition as well.