Half-Life 3 Trademark Filing May Have Been Bogus

Valve made its name on the back of its very popular Half-Life video game franchise. It's been a number of years since Half-Life 2 was launched back in 2007. That was the last video game in the franchise, launched about six years ago. Lots of fans of the franchise were understandably excited last week when reports surfaced that Valve had filed for a Half-Life 3 trademark.

Reports are now surfacing that indicate that excitement may have been a bit premature. That trademark app was published to a European trademark registration site last week and it now appears that the entire thing could have been a hoax. The uncertainty is very irritating considering that the trademark filing appeared to be on the up and up and even had Valve's address. Not that it would be difficult to put a real address on a fake document.

There are a couple theories floating around about what may be going on. One theory is that Valve is trying to hide the fact that it's working on the video game now that the trademark has been approved. Another theory is that someone simply filed for the trademark to fool legions of fans into believing a new game was coming in the franchise.

Valve US has also apparently held the trademark for Half-Life 3 for a while, so the game could've been in the works for a long time. The reality is no one really knows outside of Valve if the company is working on another installment in the franchise. Considering how popular the franchise is and how badly fans are clamoring for a new installment, a follow-up would seem to be guaranteed. However, fans have clamored for years for follow-ups to popular games before only to be left disappointed. Valve certainly doesn't want that.

SOURCE: Hot Hardware