The original article sounds like it comes from some crazy conspiracy theorist with all the weird attempts to connect numbers to dates, but the concrete details of:

• the stuff in the background and at the end of the wheatley video
• the employees seen wearing half life 3 t-shirts
• and the cryptic tweets from the account that does ARGs for Valve...

...make everything as a whole pretty interesting.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Rumor-Half-Life-3-Announcement-Coming-60-Days-37744.html

Could be something!

Saw this on RPS. Man, people are desperate for information.

Half-life 3 is worth being desperate for, Half-life 1 & 2 single-handedly saved thousands of third world countries. Okay, that might not be totally accurate.

NO DAMNIT! 
I already said this in another thread. I wont believe it.
I WONT LET YOU HURT ME AGAIN GABE! NEVER AGAIN!
*runs away sobbing uncontrollably*

I wish =(

I care about Half-Life 3 just enough to make snide comments about how much I don't care about Half-Life 3.

@tekmojo said:

Half-life 3 is worth being desperate for, Half-life 1 & 2 single-handedly saved thousands of third world countries. Okay, that might not be totally accurate.

Probably because there aren't even 200 countries total.

Fuck that. Be honest and say, hey, episodic content was full of shit, now here's your fucking game. 
 
I don't care anymore. Keep making your money valve. You don't care about me anymore.

@Claude said:

Fuck that. Be honest and say, hey, episodic content was full of shit, now here's your fucking game. I don't care anymore. Keep making your money valve. You don't care about me anymore.

It's gonna be alright. They gonna treat you right, babydoll. Just lay right down and play them vidya games they're throwing at you.

I will laugh and cry if all this time we waited for just another 3 hour long episode that barely adds new content.

Actually I will be quite pissed more than anything.

@Claude said:

Fuck that. Be honest and say, hey, episodic content was full of shit, now here's your fucking game. I don't care anymore. Keep making your money valve. You don't care about me anymore.

It's gonna be alright. They gonna treat you right, babydoll. Just lay right down and play them vidya games they're throwing at you.

The Half-Life franchise should be headed by J.J. Abrams, since they are both so full of their own "don't you want to know what's in the box?" bullshit.

With that said, I'm pretty sure Gabe Newell might get murdered by someone if he doesn't announce Half-Life 3 soon.

I kind of don't care anymore.

@Claude said:

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Claude said:

Fuck that. Be honest and say, hey, episodic content was full of shit, now here's your fucking game. I don't care anymore. Keep making your money valve. You don't care about me anymore.

It's gonna be alright. They gonna treat you right, babydoll. Just lay right down and play them vidya games they're throwing at you.

Valve is still making Video Games? Could have fooled me. Portal 2 wasn't enough. All the TF2 updates I didn't want or cared to play. I didn't like Left for Dead or its afterlife. I want Half Life. I was promised much more and got nothing. I forget, what was Half Life again, it's been so long.

You know. It's that shooter game with the crowbar and the glasses man.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Claude said:

Fuck that. Be honest and say, hey, episodic content was full of shit, now here's your fucking game. I don't care anymore. Keep making your money valve. You don't care about me anymore.

It's gonna be alright. They gonna treat you right, babydoll. Just lay right down and play them vidya games they're throwing at you.

Valve is still making Video Games? Could have fooled me. Portal 2 wasn't enough. All the TF2 updates I didn't want or cared to play. I didn't like Left for Dead or its afterlife. I want Half Life. I was promised much more and got nothing. I forget, what was Half Life again, it's been so long.

Does anybody actually still care about Half Life 3 at this point?

NO DAMNIT! 
I already said this in another thread. I wont believe it.
I WONT LET YOU HURT ME AGAIN GABE! NEVER AGAIN!
*runs away sobbing uncontrollably*

@Napalm said:

Does anybody actually still care about Half Life 3 at this point?

Many people do. Pretty passionately too.

Valve should just make trailers and teasers for Half-Life 3 but never actually put it out. Anticipation is like half the fun of HL3 at this point and expectations are far too unrealistic for any game to meet.

@cmpLtNOOb: There also the letter that Gabe sent back to 4chan confirming that they're going to be announcing something that will make them happy at E3:

http://i.imgur.com/jnYL3.jpg

Additionally, he later tweeted that whatever they were going to be announcing was going to have a "3" in the title.

The real mindfuck here? All of this information was up on a PC Gamer article this morning...and link which has gone completely dead and is missing from my browser history.

Original link to the PC Gamer article was pulled from this Destructoid article:

http://www.destructoid.com/valve-begins-hyping-something-half-life-3-confirmed-omg--217732.phtml?s=50#comments

Given the complexity of their previous ARG for Portal 2, I'm inclined to believe this is legit. I mean this is Valve we're talking about...the biggest dick-tease in the business.

Remember the countdown page for Portal 2? There was a distinct silhouette of the G-Man on it.

Valve knows people want this game, and I'm sure they will sure as hell have something weirdly spectacular planned.

@Napalm said:

Does anybody actually still care about Half Life 3 at this point?

Many people do. Pretty passionately too.

@RsistncE said:

Additionally, he later tweeted that whatever they were going to be announcing was going to have a "3" in the title.

TH3 DOTA

@Video_Game_King said:

@tekmojo said:

Half-life 3 is worth being desperate for, Half-life 1 & 2 single-handedly saved thousands of third world countries. Okay, that might not be totally accurate.

Probably because there aren't even 200 countries total.

Careful, you're coming dangerously close to breaking character.

@TooWalrus:

What are you talking about? Are you suggesting that there are over 800 countries on the Moon? There's only one, and I rule it.

@TooWalrus:

What are you talking about? Are you suggesting that there are over 800 countries on the Moon? There's only one, and I rule it.

@Napalm:

My body is filled with galaxies? Awesome, apparently.

@Video_Game_King said:

@Napalm:

My body is filled with galaxies? Awesome, apparently.

I'll fill your body with more than just galaxies, baby.

@Tebbit:

Are you part of some Galactus puke fetish or something?

I just hope it'll be considerably better than HL2. That game was kinda boring and I didn't like the Eastern city vibe. I want more Black Mesa stuff and soldiers in snow camo!

I never finished the 2nd one.

I lost interest in Half Life a few years ago. At this point I'd rather Valve spent their resources on a new IP.

I still dont understand why people want HL3 so much.

@DoctorWelch said:

I still dont understand why people want HL3 so much.

Because Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were both hugely influential and fantastic games. Are you dumb?

@Video_Game_King said:

@Napalm:

My body is filled with galaxies? Awesome, apparently.

I'll fill your body with more than just galaxies, baby.

@Sooty said:

@DoctorWelch said:

I still dont understand why people want HL3 so much.

Because Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were both hugely influential and fantastic games. Are you dumb?

I've played both and, well, I say Eh. The story is nonexistent other than giant assumptions made by fans, the shooting is just what you would have expected at the time from each game, and the "puzzle" like gameplay is annoying at best. The games were just bland to me, middle of the road, playable and fun but nothing special. Plus, HL2 came out so long ago that the expectations are so stupidly and unrealistically high that no game is going to come out that fulfills everyone's, or even anyone's, expectations.

Gabe has hair. Gordon has hair. Coincidence? I think not! Half Life 3 CONFIRMED!

Always bet on Gordon.

As much as I dislike how Half-Life 2 plays, I think a new Half-Life could be neat! I'm definitely interested in seeing the story.

@RsistncE said:

Additionally, he later tweeted that whatever they were going to be announcing was going to have a "3" in the title.

TH3 DOTA

For every person proudly proclaiming that they no longer care, there are thousands of people whose heart-rate just shot up 60 bpm when they read the title of this thread. Valve knows that Half Life still matters to people. Don't pretend like it doesn't just to be cool.

I think Valve has played this well. I think they are just as reluctant to let Half-life go as the Half-life fan is. But you don't pull out the big gun time after time. In fact if you are smart, and Valve has been smart, it turns out that isn't your only big gun..just the biggest. And that much of the time more by rumor and/or memory.

Someone mentioned a Valve-System Shock 3 yesterday..in jest. But the pain actually diminished for a second. I don't mind Valve expanding their portfolio, and while Left for Dead I've never played, Portal rocks. They would be really smart to get another franchise in the works..but never ever ever let loose of Half-life. It's not going anywhere...and as long as it isn't I can wait. But, there is a limit to caring there, also. So time may be running out.. for a full return on investment at least.

I want Half Life 3.....GIMME!

Aww man! Don't get me excited about Half-Life again...my heart can only break so many times!!!! lol

I kind of don't care anymore.

I have laid to rest my wishes for a Half Life 3 some time ago, and I am fine with that. I will always have found memories of the first two titles. If Valve plans to bring back Half Life, redeeming itself from suddenly dropping out of existence, then it will have to blow the lid off the roof to get EVERYONE back on board screaming and tossing babies.

I know this is gonna sound crazy guys, but I think the anticipation for Half Life has reached that point where it's alright for you to stop caring about it, even if they were able to somehow release it next year, there are still plenty of big games coming out that would basically make you feel alright about skipping it  entirely. The sad truth is that Valve has no one to blame for that but themselves, you can't expect people to care about something after 5 years when you don't give any kind of information about it and every one of your surprising reveals just turns out to be another sequel in different franchises.

I'm not saying there's no chance of HL3 being announced at E3 but you're right to tell people to be calm, we know how this goes by now. Valve have confirmed that there is currently no HL3 ARG going on and I'm not sure which ARG Twitter account you're talking about but if you mean Doug Rattmann's one, that was confirmed to have been set up by a fan at the end of the last ARG. As for the HL3 t-shirts I suspect they're a joke, and while Gabe has said they'll be announcing something with a three in it at E3 this year (which is very exciting news whatever it is) that doesn't mean Half-Life 3.

Man, anyone not excited for Half-Life 3 can go the fuck away. Valve makes some amazing games. They know that they have to up the ante. That's probably one of the many reasons Episode 3 dissolved.

That said, the joke that is Valve Time has me cynical enough to not even think about the game anymore until it's in my hands. We've seen Valve go so far as to announce games and release media for them, only to have them fall into the netherworld and resurface as something completely different (Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead). They can flat-out announce Half-Life 3 (a game we all know is coming someday, somehow, because that franchise made Valve), but that doesn't mean there will be a concrete release date, unless they've spent all this time actually finishing the game, and the announcement day is also the release day.

Damn, that would be so awesome.