The Half-Life 3 trademark that cropped up last week has disappeared.
Briefly last week, the European Union’s Office of Harmonization (a group of intrepid researchers) discovered that a trademark had been filed under the title and heading of Half-Life 3. This trademark essentially covered all computer game software, electronic game software, downloadable software, and video game software. In short, it was a minor revelation that had some fans on the edge of their seats awaiting an official announcement from Valve for the new addition to the series.
It would have made a bit of sense too. Valve, and their company Steam, had just recently released an enormous wealth of data and news in regards to their new “console” system, Steam Box. What they are describing is a system that will bring PC level gaming to the living room in an easily accessible fashion; no more lugging your huge PC tower around the house. They had previously discussed a few of the games that would be featured on the system, but wouldn’t it have made sense to officially announce one of the most anticipated games of all time? We all crossed our fingers and waited patiently for the news. Sadly, that news never came. And now, it seems, the trademark has been erased from the internal market database.
Arriving in its place is a new trademark for Portal 3. Okay. This is something we can get behind as well. The Portal games are just as addicting and effective as the Half-Life series. But unfortunately, it’s not the big one. The one we’ve been waiting for since Half-Life 2: Episode 2’s release back in 2007. I suppose fans and gamers will have to wait a little longer for Valve to announce that the game is on the horizon. Until then…