'Half-Life 3' release date news, rumors: next installment may come in time for original version's 20th anniversary in 2018; to have VR capability?

"Half Life 3" is expected to arrive but not anytime soon.Steam

Despite the lack of official announcement from Valve — the developer behind the successful "Half-Life" franchise — fans are expecting the third installment of Gordon Freeman's adventures sometime in the future.

According to rumors, "Half Life 3" may be released sometime in 2018 in time for the 20th anniversary of the release of the original game.

Fans are also speculating that the new installment will feature an underwater environment and will show Gordon travelling via submarine to a location called the Kraken Base. According to reports, Freeman — who is supposed to be meeting Dr. Helena — will be betrayed by his allies, leaving him trapped within the base. His mission will involve him escaping and destroying the base in the process.

Rumors are also rife that the game could be released on VR after Valve recently partnered with HTC for its VR device, the HTC Vive. This is not a long shot as most games are slowly but surely tapping into the new technology to enhance the gaming experience.

The rumors are further strengthened by a recent Dota 2 update that contained codes that may pertain to Half Life VR. The string of code was found in the Destinations app, the company's virtual reality app that allows people to explore places, both real and virtual, with friends. Its regular updates gives players the freedom to take a peek at its source code.

The HL:VR code that was found in it contained strings of code with VR controllers, weapons and movement options that may pertain to features related to Half Life Virtual Reality.

Rumors were further fueled by HTC chairwoman Cher Wang's confirmation that they were cooperating with the studio on a "Half Life" project. She, however, did not expound on whether the project involves a new game or a remake of the old games for the VR device.

Wang however, took back the statement and apologized for creating any confusion about their company's partnership with Valve. 

"In response to a question on specific games, I misspoke when I referred to our working together with Valve on a particular game, when instead I meant our collaboration with Valve on developing next-generation virtual reality experiences for gaming. I am very excited about the work we are doing with Valve, and look forward to bringing our HTC Vive to market later this year" she told the BBC