Throwing the caution of attracting the ire of the The Answer Is No Twitter account, the idea of actually getting to play Half-Life 3 makes one take risks when it comes to article title conventions. The idea of the game actually seeing the light of day is point of extreme consternation of video game fans around the globe. Of course, if you’re making a sequel to a game that’s been called “Best PC Game Ever” by PC Magazine, it going to draw a lot of interest. In fact, the wait for Half-Life 3 has led to the creation of some pretty successful social media accounts that focus on this disturbing lack of more Gordon Freeman content.

But thanks to a couple of occurrences, there maybe room for hope. First came the news of the title being registered for a trademark Europe. That, alone, was reason enough to get the “where in the hell is Half-Life 3” crowd active. Today’s news, however, may just get those wheels of anticipation turning at an overdrive rate. Rock, Paper, Shotgun has the details:

There is a thing called Jira that Valve uses for project management. Everything they do is tracked on it, and last night it accidentally went public and OHMYGOD THERE’S A HALF-LIFE 3 TEAM ON IT! No Ricochet 2 team, however.

It’s the second indication in as many days that suggests Valve has decided to focus on Gordon’s journey, following the discovery of a trademark registration. The list has a core of ten developers (called “Half-Life 3 Core, that has Minerva modder Adam Foster, Counter-Strike’s Jesse Cliffe and others, as well as a further 46 in the “Half-Life 3” group…

Does this mean it’s time to start clearing your calendar of anticipation of the Further Adventures of Gordon Freeman? Considering the distinct lack of news recently, this could be the ray of hope people can legitimately hang their hat on; but then again, this could be just another chapter in The Further Adventures of the Most Desired Piece of Vaporware Ever.

Adjust your “want” levels accordingly.

[Lead image courtesy of Valve]