It was an honor for me to have the Valve staff come to the thread I created over there
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I however have to say that it seems to me that they are keeping hope alive, they were just forced to cool down the community because some trolls hyped things up in a way Valve can't manage because that hype probably wouldn't last until the real release date of the game. But they are certainly keeping hope alive. I mean, look at the Moderator coming a few posts after the Valve staff guy, remembering that he has a thread going on with Half-Life 3 hints discovered by him or other members.
Also, watch Wheatley's acceptance speech (for the prize he actually didn't win) and notice the last sentence he says: "Well, maybe next year."
Valve Releases Wheatley’s VGA 2011 “Character Of The Year” Never-Aired Acceptance Short – Hints Towards A Secret Valve Single-Player Game To Be Released In 2012?
The Wheatley acceptance speech for the award he didn't win is telling - "Well, maybe next year.". As the article very well says, no award has ever been given to a multiplayer only character, so that leaves out Dota 2, CS: GO, and any eventual Left 4 Dead 3, or even Team Fortress 3 (but I think Valve already said they weren't going to release any TF sequel anytime soon). What does that leave us with ? HL2: EP3 or HL3 or Portal 3, but, while that is the most immediate conclusion you can take from the video, it doesn't seem likely Valve would release a third Portal game so soon. Given that the Half-Life universe and the Portal universe are connected, it makes perfect sense to interpret that as next year Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or Half-Life 3 will eventually have a nominated candidate for the award.