Valve had an outstanding year in 2011 with the release of the highly anticipated Portal 2, a game that went leaps and bounds over the original, both with single player and co-op components. So all that’s left to wonder now is…what’s left for 2012, aside from the upcoming Counter Strike: Global Offensive? Well, if Internet hints indicate anything, the company is hard at work on yet another long-awaited sequel — the follow-up to Half-Life 2.
The first hint came in the form of a photo of a T-shirt worn by a Valve employee, showing a logo for Half-Life 3. Many consider it to be a cruel hoax, as the company made no official announcements at the time. You can see the photo — and the story — for yourself here.
Then another hint arose when Official Xbox Magazine UK reported on a rumor that an unnamed U.S. voice actor had stated the voice recording for Half-Life Episode 3 had been finished already. That story is right here. Again, though, without official details or confirmation, it could only be dismissed as rumor.
But today marks a new twisted turn for the rumored project. A website titled Black Aperture has opened up today, revealing a logo for what could be Half-Life 3, complete with Valve, Steam and Source logos. Clicking on it, though, takes you to the current page for The Orange Box, which contains three Half-Life games along with Team Fortress 2 and Portal.
The website looks like the real deal, and Valve would’ve rushed to pull it down had it been someone’s bright idea of a hoax, so the possibility of Half-Life 3 coming from the team is more likely than ever. However, until the company says so, we still have to teeter on the idea of “what if”, and if it’s official or not. Keep those fingers crossed, Freeman fans.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!
