'Half-Life 3' release date, updates: Valve is silent but rumors suggest 2018 release

A promotional image for the video game "Half-Life 2"Valve

Despite Valve Corporation's radio silence, "Half-Life 3" reports continue to surface with rumor mills suggesting that the sought after game is coming in 2018.

The title is expected to finally see the light of day in a couple years as a way to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary. It was in November 1998 when the first "Half-Life" game graced and changed gaming world forever.

After the release of "Half-Life 2: Episode Two" back in 2002, Valve planned to continue the franchise with "Half-Life 2: Episode Three," with a release slated for 2007.

However, the studio just pulled the plug on the project and has stopped putting out projects ever since. "Half-Life 3" remains out of reach, with the company silent about it 10 years after they first let go of the franchise.

But if the reports of a 2018 release are to be believed, the video game series is yet to see its doom. After all, a legion of fans is waiting to see it in the flesh.

Technology has evolved since the "Half-Life" game was released, and "Half-Life 3" is imagined to take advantage of Virtual Reality (VR), as well as new engines and powerful consoles, a prospect that excites fans.

Meanwhile, just recently, Marc Laidlaw, the lead writer for the "Half-Life" series, reflected about putting together the series and how it made him feel like he was writing a novel.

He simply reminisced about the experience and mentioned no future projects and no "Half-Life 3." This doesn't come as a big surprise since Laidlaw already left Valve early this year.

From the looks it, the closest fans have to "Half-Life 3" for now are the movies that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams are working on. The filmmaker recently gave an update on the projects.

Speaking to IGN, Abrams said that he should be meeting up with Valve this week and that they are "very active" in the development process.

"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," Abrams said.