As previously reported, "Half-Life 3" may either be in development or completely canceled, with Valve's explanation being that the game is no longer a priority for the company.

However, according to a report from Master Herald, it is possible that the release of "Half-Life 3" may be delayed in order to prioritize "Left 4 Dead 3."

According to the report, Valve recently moved about 100 employees off the development of "Half-Life 3" in order to work on othe titles, "Left 4 Dead 3" included. It is stated that the latter is now currently aiming for a 2017 release which would lead to an even longer delay for "Half-Life 3."

It is explained that "Left 4 Dead 3" has a higher chance of being developed first because of its multiplayer-centric nature. Valve is reportedly banking on the profitable nature of multiplayer games, which can constantly be updated and played compared to that of a single player title.

This is the same philosophy that has kept online multiplayer games such as "World of Warcraft" and now "Grand Theft Auto Online" as big hits despite releasing several years ago. As a matter of fact, since the launch of "World of Warcraft," developer Blizzard Entertainment has yet to develop a single-player RTS "Warcraft" game.

If the rumors are true and "Left 4 Dead 3" will indeed release before "Half-Life 3" by 2017, it is likely that the game will utilize the newer Source 2 engine, allowing the former to experiment with better graphics and game physics. Some fans speculate that "Left 4 Dead 3" may be a type of experiment to test the Source 2 engine before the developers use it on "Half-Life 3."

Unfortunately, at this point Valve has not made any official announcements regarding "Half-Life 3" or "Left 4 Dead 3" and has instead focused most of the company's efforts on its Steam network and the recently launched Steam Machines, Steam Link and Steam Controller, all of which are available on Steam.